Sins of the Fathers
by Guardian of Nesh
Summary: Ash and Dawn both never knew their fathers and both of their fathers hold secrets. When a boy named Silver challenge Dawn in Johto and then tells her to take on the Kanto League Ash leaves Unova after his recent League loss to join her. Will Ash and Dawn find the truth about their fathers? Will they achieve their dreams? Will they find love along the way? Mixed continuity.
1. Chapter 1: The Red Haired Stranger

**Sins of the Fathers**

Disclaimer: Pokémon's various videogame, anime, and manga rights belong to their respective holders of which I am not one.

**Chapter 1: The Red Haired Stranger**

Silver walked in silence. He knew had to hurry if he wanted to meet her, after all, she was only here in Johto for a little while. In all honesty he'd just gotten really lucky, he wanted to meet this girl for a long time but she'd had no reason to come to Johto. That all changed with the Wallace Cup being held here.

He'd watched her win the Wallace Cup, putting his training in the Dragon's Den on hold just to come here to Goldenrod City, just to meet her. He hadn't even known if she would be here. Some of the female trainers in the Blackthorn Gym had been talking about it and he overheard. He'd just hoped she couldn't ignore the allure of a Pokémon Contest. Lucky for him that had been the case.

Finally he reached his destination outside the Contest Hall, having made it through the throng of excited fans who were on their way out. He waited just as he walked, in silence. After a few minutes she stepped out, her Piplup in her arms.

"Dawn Berlitz?" he asked, he had to be absolutely sure that this was who he was looking for. He knew this girl was from Twinleaf Town and he figured the girl he was looking for would be too. That was where she'd lived last he knew. The first name and hometown were the same but that didn't mean he was correct in assuming this was the one he was looking for.

"Yeah that's me," she said with a confused look on her face, "but not many people know my last name. Do I know you?" Silver smiled at her.

"No, you don't know me," he said, "My name is Silver, I guess you could say I'm a fan of yours." Dawn brightened up immediately even though his voice never lost its trademark serious tone.

"I have fans here in Johto? Wow. I guess you want an autograph or something right?" she asked. Silver's smile widened and took on an almost predator like quality. There wasn't any malice or hatred there, like there would be for say Team Rocket but it was still quite chilling if Dawn's worried face was anything to go by.

"No, I want to battle you." Silver declared.

"You want to battle me?" She asked. Silver nodded.

"There's a battlefield behind the Pokémon Center. We can use that one, that is if you're interested." He said.

"I'll be there, no need to worry!" Dawn said with confidence shining in her eyes. Silver looked forward to seeing if that confidence was justified. He knew she was good, but was she good enough to face _him_? He nodded once more and made his way to the battlefield behind the Pokémon Center. He waited a full ten minutes before she joined him.

"Glad you decided to join me." he greeted.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Silver," Dawn said, "I was having Nurse Joy check out my Pokémon."

"That's not a problem Dawn, it's always good to make sure your Pokémon are in good health," Silver assured her, "Now I know you're a busy girl, you probably want to get back to your Contests in Hoenn so here's what I propose for this battle. We each use one Pokémon each: our starter. I feel this is the quickest way to gauge your strength as these Pokémon have been with us the longest and therefore best reflect our styles."

"Alright, sounds good to me, you ready Piplup?" Dawn asked. The little penguin Pokémon voiced its agreement and hopped down on the ground from Dawn's arms. Silver smiled to himself, how ironic that they would both pick Water type Pokémon as their starters. He grabbed a Pokéball and enlarged it.

"Feraligatr, come on out!" Silver threw the Pokéball and with a popping noise and a brilliant white light the aforementioned Pokémon appeared. Every time Silver saw his starter he was reminded of how far he'd come. He hadn't acquired his oldest and dearest friend in the way most Pokémon Trainers did. He'd actually stolen Feraligatr from Professor Elm's lab back when it was still a Totodile. Back then he hadn't treated his Pokémon very well at all. It had taken a defeat from Lance of the Elite Four and his continued losing streak to Gold to turn things around for him.

"Oh wow, a Feraligatr." Dawn pulled out her Pokédex.

"_Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokémon. The final evolution of Totodile. Once a Feraligatr has clamped its powerful jaws around an opponent, it won't let go until the opponent is defeated."_ He heard the Pokédex say.

"Looks like this is going to be a tough one." Dawn mused aloud. Piplup chirped in a reassuring manner.

"I'll let you have the first move Dawn."

"Alright Piplup use BubbleBeam," Dawn ordered. The penguin Pokémon let out a large stream of bubbles that raced toward Feraligatr. Silver gave no order. The attack connected dead center, kicking up dust. When all was said and done Feraligatr looked perfectly fine, "No way!" Silver smirked.

"Feraligatr, use Slash." The claw of the alligator like Pokémon glowed and it charged toward the much smaller Piplup.

"Dodge it quick Piplup," to the creature's credit did try to dodge but Feraligatr was just too quick for it. The attack sent Piplup flying across the room, "Piplup are you alright?" The penguin got up and nodded,

"Impressive, your Piplup is quite strong; I haven't met many Pokémon who weren't fully evolved that could take a Slash from Feraligatr." Dawn smiled at him.

"Piplup's been tough since the day I met him. Now use a spinning Headbutt!" Piplup launched itself into the air headfirst at Feraligatr. Again Silver didn't order his Pokémon to dodge and the attack connected. This time Feraligatr stumbled backward and displayed some small amount of pain but Silver was still stone-faced.

"Grab it and use Crunch," Feraligatr did as it was told and poor Piplup found itself in between its powerful jaws, "Now throw it." Feraligatr jerked its head around quickly while releasing its opponent from its jaws. Piplup went flying into the wall behind Dawn.

"Piplup!"

"Is this really the best you can do Dawn, I'm disappointed," he said, "If this is all the challenge you can offer me then we might as well just end this here." Silver had truly hoped she was stronger than this. The whole reason he'd even come out here was to test Dawn. He'd been hoping she would be able to do what he couldn't and defeat _him._ Once again Piplup stood up but looking like he'd seen better days. The penguin had a defiant look in its eyes.

"Piplup, do you want to continue, we'll go with whatever you decide," Dawn asked. The Pokémon nodded, "Alright then we'll keep going and we're going to win. No need to worry, when we work together there's nothing we can't do!" Silver smiled. She reminded him of Gold. Always peppy, dedicated to her Pokémon like they were her family, and never giving up, every quality a great Trainer needed.

"Are you sure, I mean it's plain your Piplup can't beat my Feraligatr, not as things are. I don't want to hurt it." Silver said. Then Piplup dropped something on the ground it looked like an everstone.

"Oh, Piplup, you didn't have to do that… I gave you that because you didn't want to evolve." Dawn said as her Pokémon began to evolve.

"It looks like he changed his mind. Your dedication to him made him want to do everything he could to help you win Dawn," Silver explained, "but now back to our battle. Feraligatr, Aqua Tail." A spiral of water enveloped the Pokémon's tail and in charged the newly evolved Prinplup.

"Prinplup, counter with Hydro Pump!" Dawn commanded. Prinplup let a stream of high pressure water loose from its beak that hit Feraligatr in the face and managed to make Silver's Pokémon fall on to its back. Feraligatr got back up with a slight sluggishness.

"Feraligatr return!" Silver returned his starter to its Pokéball.

"What are you doing," Dawn asked, bewilderment etched on her features, "The battle's not over Silver."

"It is for me, I saw what I came to see. I just wanted to meet you and test you." He told her.

"Why?" she asked. That made Silver pause. He _could_ tell her his reasons outright but she'd never believe him. He'd have to go with his original plan and hope for the best.

"Challenge the Kanto Pokémon League," Silver instructed, "When it comes time to get your eighth badge in Viridian City ask the Gym Leader about me. Then all will become clear."

"But I'm a Pokémon Coordinator, my love is for Contests, not Gym battles." she protested.

"That's a shame," Silver said with a shrug, "If your Prinplup is any indication you would do quite well in Gym battles, and if you don't take the Gym challenge you'll never know who I am. However if you do decide to do as I ask and wish to find me when all is said and done, all will be in the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn City here in Johto." With that he began to walk away.

"Well what's going to stop me from just following you and making you give me the answers?" she asked.

"I won't speak to you again until you have defeated the Viridian Gym Leader. Until them I'm just the red haired stranger you met in Goldenrod City." He answered simply as he kept walking.

"_I'm sorry Dawn but this is the way it has to be," _he thought, _"I already failed miserably, now you're the only one who can beat him and make him come back to his senses. You must defeat our father." _With that he left his sister's sight, hoping against all hope that she would do as he asked. Hoping that she would do what he couldn't and defeat Giovanni.

* * *

><p>So yeah this isn't really meant to make sense in any continuity as I make references to both the games and the anime. I will tell you what is canon for this new continuity right now, The games Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Soulsilver happened with Giovanni's Team Rocket being replaced by one run by his mother Madame Boss and the Team Rocket Trio in Yellow being replaced by Jessie's mother Miyamoto. Also of note GoldEthan lost to Red on Mt. Silver

Everything in the anime, even the movies, up to episode after the end of the Unova League, New Places… Familiar Faces happened. However I do need to make one slight change for plot: Giovanni is still running the Viridian City Gym. Just assume that Ash still ran into Agatha, battled her and went to the Battle Frontier, the battle just wasn't inside the Viridian Gym. Oh and there's the more obvious change of Dawn being Giovanni's daughter, because, why not.

Please note I will take the liberty to change continuity if I need to make the story work and I will explain these changes at the end of the chapter they appear.


	2. Chapter 2: The Crossroads of Pallet

**Sins of the Fathers**

Disclaimer: Pokémon's various videogame, anime, and manga rights belong to their respective holders of which I am not one.

**Chapter 2: The Crossroads of Pallet**

Dawn Berlitz took a breath of the salty sea air as she sailed along Route 21 to Pallet Town on a ship that barely qualified for the name, Pallet wasn't exactly a popular destination, even with the world famous Professor Oak living there. She'd been in Kanto for a few days now, first arriving in the tourist trap that was Cinnabar Island. She'd heard there was a Gym there but it turned out the place had shut down years ago. Honestly she didn't even want to be here, but for some reason she'd decided to put her career as a Pokémon Coordinator on hold just to figure out who the enigma known as Silver was.

Silver, he was just some red haired guy who challenged her to a battle in Goldenrod City after the Wallace Cup. She probably should've left it at that and not thought about him again but she felt an odd attachment to the older boy. Silver had left very implicit instructions: Challenge the Kanto Pokémon League and when she battled the eighth Gym Leader in Viridian City to ask about him. That was why she was in Kanto.

Dawn sighed, Gym battles weren't her cup of tea, and if she hadn't felt that weird attachment to Silver she would've blown of his request and gone back to Hoenn to get the remaining ribbons she needed to compete in the Grand Festival. Instead she was here on this ship. She just hoped this was worth it.

"Prin Prinplup." Prinplup trilled in concern next to her. Dawn couldn't exactly understand what her newly evolved starter had said but she knew him well enough to get the gist of things. She rubbed the top of Primplup's head lovingly. She'd gotten some odd looks for keeping him out of his Pokéball, something she'd picked from Ash and Pikachu, but it was nice to have the constant companionship.

"No need to worry, I'll be fine; I just wish we were going back to Hoenn is all." She said. Prinplup seemed to nod in understanding. Humans might not be able to understand Pokémon speech but Dawn was convinced that Pokémon could understand people. She smiled reassuringly at her partner and went back to watching the horizon.

She could see Pallet Town coming up now. The sight made Dawn think of Ash, this was his home, she was going to be traveling through the region he'd grew up in and challenging the Gyms just as he had. She wished that Ash could be here with her as it would make the journey easier but he was still in Unova. Come to think of it the Unova League would be starting soon, if it hadn't already. No doubt Ash's mom would be watching; there was no harm in staying in Pallet for a few days and watching Ash compete.

It wasn't long before they made landfall and Dawn being the only passenger on the ship disembarked. The young Coordinator took a look around and smiled, Pallet Town seemed like a nice quiet place. Prinplup seemed to be enjoying it as well.

"It's pretty nice here isn't Prinplup; it reminds me of Twinleaf Town." Her partner voiced his agreement to that sentiment. Dawn began walking around town looking for Professor Oak's Research Lab, which in all honesty wasn't that, hard to find being the biggest building in town. She didn't really need to come here, her Pokédex didn't need upgrading. She probably could've just passed through Pallet without anyone noticing but she figured it was bet to at least let Professor Oak now that she was in the area. Once she found the lab Dawn waked right up and knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately to reveal a black haired boy in a green shirt, red shorts, and matching sweatband.

"Hello can I help you?" The boy asked. Dawn could've worn she saw the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

"Hi I'm Dawn, I'm from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region and I wanted to let Professor Oak I'd be traveling through Kanto. He knows me I traveled through Sinnoh with Ash Ketchum."

"Oh! Professor Oak has mentioned you. I'm his assistant Tracey Sketchit. I traveled with Ash when he was in the Orange Islands. Please come in," Dawn followed Tracey into the lab with Prinplup trailing behind her, "Dawn I'm a Pokémon Watcher, that means is I draw Pokémon. I was wondering if I could draw your Prinplup some time; I've never seen one up close before." The Coordinator looked over at her starter Pokémon; she didn't want Prinplup to be uncomfortable. He didn't seem to have any objections.

"I think that would be alright." She said.

"Actually, Professor Oak, Mrs. Ketchum and I were all about to sit down and watch some TV. Ash has made it to the top eight in the Vertress Conference, Unova's Pokémon League and we were all going to watch his battle together. Would you like to join us? I'm sure neither of them would mind." Tracey said.

"I'd love to; I'll always take the chance to cheer Ash on." Dawn replied. Tracey led her and Prinplup into the lobby where Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum were waiting.

"Why Dawn, this is a surprise," Oak said, "What brings you to Pallet Town?"

"I'm going to be challenging the Kanto Pokémon League and I thought I'd stop by and let you know before I did with you being the Kanto region's Pokémon Professor an all." Dawn said as she sat on one of the couches.

"Well that's just splendid!" Oak declared.

"That's strange," Mrs. Ketchum, this was her first time meeting Ash's mother Dawn realized, "Ash told me about you. He said you were a Pokémon Coordinator like May, why would you be challenging Gyms?"

"I am a Coordinator but I met someone on my journey that convinced me to challenge the Indigo League." She explained.

"I hate to interrupt but the match is about to start." Tracey said. That got everyone's attention and the group was soon enraptured by the match. Dawn was more confused by the match than actually enjoying it. Watching Ash struggle with Cameron who was so scatterbrained that he didn't even know a full battle was a six on six was such a stark contrast to the Ash who had done better against Tobias, a Trainer who seemed to have a team full of Legendary Pokémon, than anyone else in the Sinnoh League was so eye twisting that she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

This couldn't be the same Ash that she had traveled with across her home region. The Ash she knew would have realized that his team wasn't ready for the higher levels of the Pokémon League. The Ash she knew would have used the many powerhouse Pokémon he had acquired over the course of his journey.

The one glimpse of the Ash that Dawn knew came in the form of a small electric mouse. Sadly even Pikachu was a shadow of its former self. She had seen the little mouse go toe to toe with an undamaged Latios, a Legendary Pokémon and a Dragon type besides meaning it resisted Electric type attacks like the majority of Pikachu's best moves. True Pikachu hadn't won but it had forced a draw. Now it was wind after a brief tussle with a Samurott and an easy win against a Swanna? It just didn't add up.

As she watched Pikachu fall to Cameron's newly evolved Lucario one thought echoed in Dawn's mind: _"What happened to you Ash?"_ It was a question he intended to get the answer to.

* * *

><p>Ash Ketchum was in a rare pensive mood as he, Iris, and Cilan walked back to Professor Juniper's lab in Nuvema Town. His loss to Cameron kept replaying in his head. Top Eight, he'd only made it to the top eight in the Vertress Conference. He'd made top four back in Sinnoh what was different here?<p>

Was it that he'd used Pokémon from other regions in Sinnoh? Maybe that could be part of it but that didn't seem like that was all of it. After all he'd done the same in Johto, still using his Kanto Pokémon. Did he try harder, he didn't think so, he couldn't think of a reason he would try harder.

Maybe it had something to do with his traveling companions. Ash stole a glance at Iris and Cilan, he hated to think that his present company had something to do with his loss; they'd been great traveling through Unova. So maybe it was somebody who _wasn't_ there for his battles in the Unova League but was in Sinnoh. Brock was the first one to come to mind but sadly as had to rule out his old friend rather quickly. After all Brock had been with him through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh and Ash hadn't really done anything that stood out until Sinnoh in any of the Pokémon Leagues. He'd even won the Orange league when Brock wasn't around; of course he'd won the Battle Frontier while traveling with Brock. Ash didn't really count either of those; they felt more like glorified Gyms than Leagues. That only left…

Dawn. The realization hit Ash like a one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure he'd done better in the Pokémon League while traveling with Dawn, that much was true, but did it really men her performed better when she was around? It seemed like a stretch at first but then he remembered the Junior Cup. Sure Ash had taken part in smaller Tournaments during his time in Unova and done well in them but then he always had, though only being in the top four in Clubsplosion was a bit of a sore spot. The Junior Cup had been something special though. A chance to battle the Unova Champion, it wasn't like the local tournaments where you got some useful but ultimately negligible prize.

Dawn had been there for the Junior Cup and Ash had come in second place. It seemed, to Ash anyway that he performed better in the clutch when Dawn was around. This could all be coincidence of course, and it probably was if he was truly honest with himself but could he really take that chance?

He was drawn out of his introspection when they finally arrived at Professor Juniper's lab. Not hesitating he walked up and hit the button on the intercom, "Professor Juniper its Ash." He said. The doors opened quickly to reveal a smiling professor.

"It's so good to see you again, please come into my lab." She said. Ash, Iris, and Cilan eagerly took the invitation, the latter pair sitting on the couch while Ash went to go use the videophone to call Professor Oak.

"Why hello Ash," Oak greeted when his face appeared on the screen, "Great job in the Unova League."

"Thanks professor but if you saw me compete you know I only made it into the top eight."

"I watched the whole thing on TV and you did just splendid," Oak assured him, "Actually there's someone here who would like to talk to you Ash."

"Who? My mom or Tracey?" Ash asked thinking those were the two most likely options. Oak just smiled and shook his head. Ash gasped when another person came into view. One of the last people he ever expected to see again: Dawn. Her presence brought an involuntary smile to his face.

"Hi Ash." She said beaming back at him. Ash had to take a moment to collect himself as he found the object of his previous musings on the other end of his call.

"Dawn what are you doing in Kanto, I thought you'd be back in Hoenn competing in Contests by now." Ash said.

"Well when I was in Goldenrod City for the Wallace Cup I met a Trainer named Silver who seemed to know me as more than just a fan. I don't know who he was but he did feel familiar. He wouldn't tell me who he was though, he told me to challenge the Kanto Gyms and ask the Viridian City Gym Leader about him," She explained, "So here I am. I was actually wondering if you'd like to come back to Kanto and travel with me. It would be nice to have someone around who knows the region."

Ash froze for a second when Dawn mentioned the Viridian Gym. He hadn't forgotten his battle for the Earth Badge or the revelation of the Viridian Gym being owned by Team Rocket. He also remembered running into their leader, and the probable Gym Leader back in Johto and just narrowly saving Mewtwo from falling into Team Rocket's clutches, and of course more recently, the incident with Meloetta and the Kami Trio. If Dawn was going to get mixed up in that he didn't want to leave her alone.

"Of course I'll travel with you, but there's something you should know about the Viridian Gym. I would rather tell you in person. It'll take a couple of days for me to get to Kanto from Unova because I have to get to the airport and take a plane, so just sit tight in Pallet town for now."

"Alright, I'll be waiting Ash." Dawn said before hanging up. Well now that that had been taken care of he just had to tell Iris and Cilan.

* * *

><p>Pallet Town, home sweet home, he hadn't been here since… his wife died in childbirth. It had been a long time since Blue Oak had been here. He probably should come home more often but his duties as Champion of the Kanto region kept him away. It was a shame really; becoming Champion had made him a hometown hero, but sadly not <em>the<em> hometown hero.

Even Blue as Kanto Champion lived in someone's shadow. In his case that person was Red Ketchum. The two of them had been rivals since they were little and it was no different when his dad the ever famous Professor Samuel Oak had given them their first Pokémon.

He'd always been one step ahead of Red, but his rival had always managed to top him in the end. It was like the old children's story the Torterra and the Bunnelby now that he thought about it. Slow and steady did win the race it seemed.

Blue smiled wanly as he remembered how impetuous he'd been when he was younger. On his first day as a Trainer he'd taken Red's intended starter, an Eevee, leaving his rival with a Pikachu his father had only caught a few minutes earlier. Red had paid him back for it by defeating him in their first battle and every battle after that.

He didn't regret it, far from it he loved his starter, now a Jolteon, dearly but it was the perfect example of what he'd been thinking about. It had been about two decades since that day and his life hadn't been all bad since then. After all he _was_ still the Kanto Champion, the second strongest Pokémon Trainer in the world. Second best, second to Red. That thought still burned him up sometimes.

Oh well, there were worse things. At any rate he'd reached his destination. He knocked on the door tree times and waited for it to open. Thankfully it was answered by just the person he wanted to see, "Hello Delia," he said with a smirk, "It's been a long time sis."

"Blue! What are you doing here; you hardly ever leave the Indigo Plateau." Delia said.

"Well the Pokémon League is closed for now, we have to give the rookie Trainers that are just starting time to get their Gym Badges before we start the next tournament and I realized it had been far too long since I visited my big sister. May I come in?" He asked.

"Of course." She replied. With that said Blue stepped into the Ketchum household; that was another thing Blue could never forgive Red for, marrying his sister. True Delia was the older of the two Oak siblings but he was still protective of her nonetheless. He saw a Mr. Mime sweeping the floor and smiled slightly.

"Well this is a surprise I thought you'd given up Pokémon after Red left." He said.

"I had but this Mr. Mime has been very useful around the house and I guess the wounds have healed some over time. Besides it gets lonely here now that Ash has left on his journey."

"Ah yes, my nephew, I've been watching his progress since he showed up at the Indigo League, top sixteen, not bad for a rookie. Not as good as his father but then I doubt there's ever been anyone as good as him," Blue made his way over to a glass case on the wall containing many Gym Badges, he counted a full set of eight for four regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh as well as four for the Orange League. Along with them were the seven Frontier Symbols of the Kanto Battle Frontier and next to the case was an Orange League trophy, "These are all his, impressive. Though I have to admit I'm surprised you let him go on a journey."

"I didn't want him to at first but I realized it was the only way he'd ever get to meet Red." Delia's voiced cracked. The pain in her eyes at her husband disappearing was evident, not for the first or even millionth time Blue cursed the name Red Ketchum.

"I'd drag him back here if I could Delia, you know that, but I'm just not strong enough."

"I's not like you're any better," She snapped, "You left Gary to be raised by Dad, not even knowing who his father was."

"It was what was best for him Delia, the Indigo Plateau is no place to raise a child and this way he didn't have to grow up in the shadow of his father. How is Gary doing?"

"He's doing well; he's become a Pokémon Researcher like Dad." Delia said.

"Good, I never wanted the life of a Trainer for him; it's not an easy one. I think he'll be much happier as following in Dad's footsteps rather than mine."

"Team Rocket's back you know."

"Yeah I know. I'd hoped they were gone for good when Red defeated Madame Boss in the Viridian Gym and Gold playing mop up duty. The Pokémon League wants to take action against Team Rocket but it has to be decisive action, without knowing who their leader is there's not much we can do."

"So does Ash know who his father is? I'm just curious."

"No I never told him. He would've just focused on finding his father instead of focusing on actually learning from his journey." Blue nodded in approval.

"Does he know about your past as a Pokémon Coordinator?"

"It never seemed important." Delia said shaking her head.

"You were a Coordinator Mrs. Ketchum?" A new voice asked. Both Oak siblings turned to see a blue haired girl in a black mini dress, white undershirt, pink skirt and pink boots, with a white beanie with a pink Pokéball print on her head.

"And who might this be? Don't tell me you had a daughter while I was away Delia." Blue joked.

"This is Dawn she's a Pokémon Coordinator from the Sinnoh region, she's a friend of Ash's," Delia said before addressing Dawn, "Yes I was a Coordinator, a very long time ago."

"You weren't just any Coordinator sis, you were a Top Coordinator," Blue said with a wry chuckle, "Delia Oak, the greatest Pokémon Coordinator in all of Kanto. They called you a prodigy."

"Wait you're related to Professor Oak?" Dawn asked.

"Yes I'm his daughter and this is my little brother Blue Oak." Delia said. Dawn, the poor girl seemed absolutely star struck.

"So Dawn what brings you to Pallet Town?" Blue asked.

"I'm actually going to challenge the Kanto Gyms. I'm staying here for a few days while I wait for Ash to get back from the Unova region because I could use someone who knows the lay of the land." So Ash was coming back to Pallet. Well this trip could turn out to be more interesting than he'd hoped.

"So Dawn, you've traveled with Ash. What do you think of his skills as a Pokémon Trainer?" He asked.

"Well Ash isn't the strongest Trainer I've ever seen but he certainly comes close. He's got an amazingly strong bond with his Pokémon; I have no doubt that he'll reach his goal and become a Pokémon Master, he's the most determined person I've ever met." Dawn answered. Blue smiled to himself the way the girl described his nephew reminded him of how his sister had described Red when they were younger. If he were a betting man, he'd have put money on her having more than friendly feelings for him.

"Thank you, that's all I needed to know, I think I'll stick around for a bit and have a battle with my nephew."

* * *

><p>Ash ran into Pallet Town with no one but his Pokémon by his side. Iris and Cilan were originally going to come with him but Professor Juniper had gotten a call from her father about how the White Ruins had been discovered. The White Ruins were said to hold vital clue to the Legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Iris and Cilan had wanted to see. Ash would've gone with them but he didn't want to hold Dawn up, she was waiting for him so she could start her journey through Kanto after all.<p>

Ash loved his hometown. As fun as traveling all around the various regions was there was something about Pallet that had always felt right. Not to mention the smell, it just smelled like home. He knew that sounded silly but was true.

He was looking forward to seeing his mother again to, even if it would be brief, he and Dawn would most likely leave in the morning. At least he'd get a good home cooked meal. His mom had probably made all of his favorite foods or was going to make them in order to celebrate his homecoming.

Strangely he was looking forward to seeing Dawn most of all. He'd just seen her not that long ago for the Junior Cup so this anticipation seemed just a little out of place. Yes he missed her but he missed all his friends that he didn't travel with anymore. Maybe there really _was_ something special about Dawn like he thought. Something that no only seemingly made him perform better in big competitions when he was around but also made him miss her more when she wasn't. Though Ash didn't have the foggiest idea what it could be.

As he rounded the last corner to his house Ash was forced to stop short. There was someone standing in front of the door. Was it Gary? It looked like Gary. Not this man seemed like an older version of Gary. This was really weird. Ash continued toward his house.

"You're Ash Ketchum right?" The man asked.

"Yeah, can I help you?" Ash asked. Why would this man be looking for him?

"My name is Blue; you probably don't know who I am so I'll tell you. I'm the Kanto Champion," Blue said, "And I challenge you to a Pokémon battle Ash Ketchum." Ash blinked in surprise. The Kanto Champion was challenging _him_ to a battle? He had to resist the urge to pinch himself. To say that Ash had dreamed about this day was the understatement of the century. Could this really be happening?

"I accept your challenge Blue." Ash said more excited than words could say. Of course he was also a little intimidated, but he'd faced opponents on roughly this level before and won. That said pulling a victory here wouldn't be easy, but that was half the fun.

"I knew you would Ash; you're a lot like your father that way." Blue said with a smirk.

"You knew my dad?" Ash asked. This was a big surprise, Ash knew next to nothing about his father. His mother barely talked about him. All he knew was that his father was on a journey as a Pokémon Trainer like he was. Ash always held out hope that they would cross paths one day but he knew that was unlikely.

"Yeah I know him and he's the strongest Trainer I've ever met, if you're anything like him Ash you'll go far," Blue said, "but I didn't come here to talk I came here to battle. Professor Oak has agreed to let us use his garden for this. He, your mom, and your friends Tracey and Dawn are waiting, let's go."

"Yeah!" Ash followed Blue eagerly into Professor Oak's garden where indeed his friends and mother were waiting. He wanted to say hello to them so badly but he knew the Kanto Champion didn't want to wait any longer so he took his place on the battlefield. Professor Oak moved to the referee position.

"This battle between the Kanto Champion Blue and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town will be a six on six battle with no substitutions. The first Trainer to make all of his opponent's Pokémon unable to battle will be declared the winner." Oak said. Both Trainers nodded in acknowledgement. Ash didn't see what choice he had in the matter as these stipulations had likely been set up by Blue in advance.

"Well Ash, I think I should let you have the first move," Blue said, "A Trainer is truly put to the test when he is at the disadvantage." Again only nodding in acknowledgement Ash picked a Pokéball.

"Snivy, I choose you!" Upon being thrown the Pokéball opened with a pop, to reveal the small Grass type Unova starter.

"A Snivy huh," Blue mused, "Then I guess I'll use this, go Ninetales!" A Fire type Ash had known something like this was coming ever since Blue had told him to go first. He was at the disadvantage and there were no substitutions. Blue had planned this from the start. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now.

"Begin!" Professor Oak declared. Ash could hear the others cheering for him on the sidelines but he tuned it out, he had to focus on the battle.

"Snivy use Attract," Ash called. Snivy winked and several pink hearts flew toward Ninetales encircling it and shrinking into its body. This didn't seem to affect Ninetales in any way, "Oh no, Ninetales must be female!"

"Three out of every four Ninetales is female Ash, and seeing how Attract didn't work your Snivy must be as well," Blue said with a chuckle, "Anyway Ninetales use Quick Attack." The fox Pokémon rushed forward with a white streak trailing behind it.

"Snivy dodge it!" Snivy never got the chance. Ninetales was simply too fast and slammed right into Snivy, sending the poor thing flying and knocking it out.

"Snivy is unable to battle Ninetales is the winner!" Professor Oak declared.

"Alright Snivy come on back, you deserve a good rest," Ash said softly as he recalled his Pokémon, "Let's fight fire with fire go Pignite, use Flamethrower!" Pignite appeared on the battlefield ready and raring to go. It immediately spewed fire from its mouth but once again Ninetales seemed utterly unharmed.

"Ninetales has the ability Flash Fire Ash, not only is it unaffected by Fire type moves but every time it's hit by one the power of its own Fire type moves increases. Show them a real Flamethrower Ninetales!" Once again the attack came too quickly to dodge and Pignite was floored.

"No Pignite!" Ash knew this was bad he was already down two Pokémon and he hadn't even touched Blue's first one yet.

"Is this really all you've got Ash," Blue asked in a bored tone, "I heard such good things about you from Agatha, but this is just pathetic. Maybe I have the wrong Ash Ketchum." Ash growled in frustration he'd show Blue he wasn't pathetic!

"Go Oshawott!" Unova's water type starter appeared next. Now Ash had type advantage, hopefully that would even things out a bit.

"Going for type advantage won't help." The Kanto Champion mocked.

"Oh yeah? Oshawott use Razor shell!" Oshawott picked up its' scalchop which began to glow and rushed Ninetales.

"Dodge it Ninetales," No matter how many times Oshawott lashed out with its attack its graceful opponent stayed just out of reach and made it look easy, "Smack it with your tails. Oshawott was sent flying but since it wasn't an actual attack it wasn't very damaging.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash commanded as soon as his Pokémon had gotten back up.

"Dig." Blue ordered lazily. Ninetales easily dodged the highly pressurized jet of water by burrowing underground.

"Oshawott, fire Hydro Pump into the hole!" Ash said. The Water Pokémon did so.

"You don't really think a paltry trick like that is going to work on a Champion's Pokémon do you Ash?" Blue asked with a sigh. Just then Ninetales finished its attack, coming up from the ground under Oshawott. That was three Pokémon down.

"Maybe if I attack from the sky," Ash muttered after recalling yet another fainted friend, "Go Unfezant!" With the flying Pokémon out Ash hoped he could finally wipe that smirk off the Champion's face.

"Flamethrower." Blue said. Ninetales obeyed once again firing a stream of flame at its opponent.

"Dodge it Unfezant!" The Flying type being a good bit speedier than most of Ash's current team and being in the air was able to comply but Ninetales was pressing the attack poor Unfezant could barely stay ahead.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash shouted and his Flying type Pokémon started to glow some and dived down toward Ninetales.

"Confuse Ray," Blue said. Ninetales' eyes began to glow red and a red orb shot out of them. Unfezant, committed to attacking as it was couldn't dodge and was thus hit by the red orb. The resulting confusion caused Unfezant to veer off course, "Fire Blast." A giant kanji made of fire issued form the fox's mouth and slammed into the confused bird. That was four Pokémon down.

"What am I going to do?" Ash mused aloud.

"Might I suggest giving up because this is just sad," Blue said, "If these are your best Pokémon and this is all you can do then you'll never become a Champion. In fact I can hardly believe you're related to your father. If he saw you he'd be ashamed, your battling skills are pathetic."

"Go Boldore!" Ash threw out another Pokémon in defiance.

"Dig," Blue said. This time the move was much faster. Boldore never got the chance to do anything, "Stop wasting my time Ash, if this is all you have then there's no point in finishing this battle."

"These aren't my strongest Pokémon," Ash said with his head hung low as he called back his fifth Pokémon in a row, "These were just the Pokémon I competed in the Unova League with and I just got home; I had them on hand. The ones I caught there. I like to start fresh when I go to a new region."

"That's really dumb of you Ash, catching new Pokémon is fine but most Trainers quickly figure out which group of six is their strongest and stick with it. If you don't do the same you'll never become one of the best. Now you have one Pokémon left, is it worth my time?" Ash wasn't sure at this point if could Pikachu even beat Blue's Ninetales?

"Don't give up yet Ash, I know you and Pikachu can show this guy what you're really made of!" Dawn's voice cut through the funk he was in. Ash looked up with a smile on his face.

"Oh this last one is more than worth your time. He's been with me since my first day as a Trainer and I can always count on him in the clutch. Go Pikachu!" Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder with sparks flying from the little mouse's cheeks. Even as this was happening Ash turned his baseball cap backwards.

"So this is you ace in the hole huh," The Champion was actually smiling good-naturedly now, "Maybe you're more like your father than I gave you credit for. Flamethrower Ninetales!"

"Dodge it and use Quick Attack Pikachu," Unlike all of his other Pokémon who fought on the ground Pikachu was actually able to dodge the attack and the follow up attack even struck home, "Now Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail glowed silver and it turned smacking Ninetales in the face with it. The fox went flying.

"Now that's more like it," Blue said as Ninetales got back up, "This will be fun. Use Dig Ninetales!"

"Stay calm Pikachu and get ready to jump," Ash kept his eyes closed and listening for the rumbling, "Now Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped just in time as Ninetales popped up right where it had been standing. "Now Electro Ball!" Pikachu charged up the ball of electricity and let it fly from his tail.

"Fire Blast!" Ninetales tilted its head slightly to get a clear shot at the still airborne Pikachu and fired. Both attacks hit their marks. When the dust cleared Pikachu was back on the ground still standing but clearly worse for the wear and Ninetales had finally been defeated.

"Yes we beat Ninetales!" Ash cheered with Pikachu joining in the celebration. He knew he wasn't going to win this battle, Blue still had five more Pokémon, all of them just as strong or stronger than the one he'd just taken down but he could at least enjoy this small victory.

"Good job Ninetales, take a good rest," The Kanto Champion recalled his old friend, "Well now Ash that Pikachu is really something I think you deserve to be shown my oldest and dearest partner. Jolteon, come on out." A Jolteon well this was a problem. He was more familiar with the Electric type Eeveelution than he was with Ninetales and was well acquainted with its Volt Absorb ability. Pikachu's Electric attacks were useless against this opponent.

"Quick Attack Pikachu!" Ash called. Pikachu charged his opponent at top speed.

"Dodge it and use Pin Missile Jolteon." Jolteon dodged Pikachu's attack its fur becoming spiky as yellow needles were fired from it.

"Pikachu Counter Shield, now!" Ash hoped his partner still knew how to do this, at the very least the command wouldn't make any sense to Blue. Luckily it seemed Pikachu hadn't forgotten as he dove to the ground and started spinning while using Thunderbolt. A wall of electricity blocked the Pin Missile and sent them back to Jolteon.

"So that's the Counter Shield, I remember seeing you use it in the Sinnoh League. It's a clever little trick. Why haven't you used it in this battle before now?"

"Pikachu is the only one of my Pokémon that I have with me that is trained to use the Counter Shield."

"I see. Quick Attack Jolteon!"

"Counter with your own Quick Attack Pikachu!" The two Pokémon ran headlong into each other, both taking damage.

"Jolteon flip Pikachu into the air," Blue said. Jolteon managed to get its head under the electric mouse and flip it airborne like a pancake, "Now use Thunder!" Jolteon's body glowed with power before it unleashed the powerful attack at the falling Pikachu.

"Use Iron Tail Pikachu!" Pikachu's tail once again glowed silver and he oriented himself so his tail would slam into Jolteon's spine. The Thunder hit first but Pikachu fought through the pain and landed his iron Tail. The combined impact of the two attacks kicked up a large plume of dust and knocked Ash off his feet.

"It took several seconds for the dust to clear but when it did it revealed a battered but still standing Jolteon and an unconscious Pikachu.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, the victory goes to Blue!" Professor Oak declared. Ash immediately ran over to his old friend and scooped him up in his arms.

"Are you okay buddy?" Ash asked.

"Pika pi." Pikachu said weakly.

"That Pikachu of yours is really something Ash, get six Pokémon like that and I'd have my hands full," Blue said as he recalled his Jolteon, "Come challenge me when you're ready. Smell ya later." Without another world Blue departed.

Ash spent the rest of his day catching up with his friends; the highlight of it was of course hearing the story of how Dawn had met this Silver person who had brought this all on and of course finally having Piplup's evolution explained. When night came however Ash couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about what Blue had said. If he had six Pokémon as strong as Pikachu he might've been able to win.

Did he even have five other Pokémon that were as strong as Pikachu? Honestly he didn't think so. Maybe he had one or two Pokémon other than Pikachu that were on that level but not enough to make a full team. Charizard was definitely up there, having beaten an Articuno in the Battle Frontier. Come to think of it Sceptile defeated Tobias' Darkrai back in the Sinnoh League so that made three Pokémon that would be on his best team. The others were a bit harder to call. He'd have to try out a bunch of different ones. With that settled Ash went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Dawn stood outside the Ketchum house with Tracy, Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum. Everyone was waiting for Ash to come out of his room. He'd said something about changing his clothes. Finally the door to the house opened. Ash stood in a doorway in an outfit Dawn had never seen him in before.<p>

He now wore a blue jacket with gold trim and white collar and sleeves, worn open over a dark cyan t-shirt, green fingerless gloves, jeans with light blue cuffs, black and white sneakers with red dots on both sides, and a brown belt. Of course he also had a hat; it was red and white with a stylized green L on it.

"I remember that outfit," Tracey said with a smile, "It's what you were wearing when we first met."

"What can I say I was feeling a bit nostalgic." Ash said.

"It looks good Ash." Dawn said giving the outfit a once over.

"Thanks Dawn." He said.

"So Ash have you decided what Pokémon you'll be taking with you?" Professor Oak asked.

"I've decided to take Sceptile, Swellow, Totodile, and Muk for now. If you could call Liza and have send Charizard over I'd appreciate it." Oak nodded and brought him the Pokéballs.

"Good luck honey." Mrs. Ketchum said seeing them off. Before they could leave Tracey approached her.

"Dawn, I want you to have this." He said handing her a sketch of her.

"Uh thanks." She said. With that she and Ash set off.

The pair walked in comfortable silence for some time. Dawn hadn't realized how much she missed traveling with Ash. She'd come a long way in her journey thanks to him and Brock. It was a debt she didn't think she was ever going to be able to repay but he'd try anyway.

"I wonder why Tracey gave me this sketch?" Dawn asked.

"Tracey tends to sketch girls he thinks are pretty." Ash explained.

"Oh," Dawn aid blushing faintly, "You mentioned you knew something about the Viridian Gym." She stopped dead.

"Yeah I do, it's run by Team Rocket." Ash said.

"Why would Silver want me to go there?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know done but we're going to figure it out. We have time; you need the other seven Badges before you can challenge the Viridian Gym."

* * *

><p>Okay so now let's explain the continuity change for this chapter. In order to reconcile the existence of both Blue and Gary who are both Professor Oak's grandson in their respective stories I made Blue Oak's son and Gary's father instead. Now as for Blue being Champion of Kanto well in the games whenever Red goes back to challenge the Elite Four Blue has become Champion again so he obviously beat them again. So that happened and Red never took back his title.<p>

Ash's mother Delia has been merged with Blue's sister Daisy, not much to say there. Red is Ash's father and a sort of Champion of Champions.

Now for the timeline of events: the altered Pokémon Yellow mentioned in the previous chapter happened twenty years ago. After that time Red and Blue settled down had their kids but left their families for different reasons.

Also occurring around that time were the births of Silver and Dawn to Giovanni and Johanna. Giovanni began planning the rebirth of Team Rocket causing a split. Giovanni took Silver and Johanna kept Dawn. Sousilver happened three years ago.


	3. Chapter 3: Samurai Strikes Again!

**Sins of the Fathers**

Disclaimer: Pokémon's various videogame, anime, and manga rights belong to their respective holders of which I am not one.

**Chapter 3: Samurai Strikes Again!**

As he and Dawn walked down Route 1 Ash couldn't help but notice his traveling companion seemed a bit glum. Well he couldn't have that, Ash Ketchum always strove to make his friends happy. Of course he needed to figure out what the problem was first, "Dawn you don't look so good, what's wrong?"

"Well, it's just that being here in Kanto means I'm not in Hoenn getting Ribbons. I'm going to miss out on the Grand Festival because of this whole thing with Silver." Dawn said.

"Yeah that's got to be hard for you, it's always been your dream to be a Top Coordinator," Ash said, "So why are you doing what this Silver guy wants anyway? You don't even know him Dawn but you put your dreams on hold just because he asked you to."

"Honestly, I don't know Ash," Dawn sighed, "I just felt like I knew him from somewhere. I had to know more and so I decided to do what he asked. I admit it wasn't very smart of me. I really _don't_ have a good reason to be here."

Ash felt a spike of something in his gut. He didn't like this Silver guy. That didn't make any sense, he'd never even met Silver. How could he possibly dislike someone he hadn't met? Silver didn't seem to be overtly evil like the various teams he'd come across. Still it was because of him that Dawn wasn't out there living her dreams and the fact that Dawn had been so willing to put her dreams on hold for him, made Ash not like him for some reason he couldn't quite fathom.

He put the odd feeling aside for now. He had to help Dawn feel better and he knew just the way, "You know Kanto has a Grand Festival too Dawn. You could always be like Nando and get both Contest Ribbons and Gym Badges. You can get a Contest Pass when we get to Viridian City."

"Yeah, I could but the Contest season has already started and none of my Hoenn Ribbons would count for the Kanto Grand Festival," She pointed out, "I'd have to get five new ribbons in less time than everyone else while getting eight Gym Badges."

"Wait you won the Wallace Cup didn't you?"

"Yeah I did."

"Well the Aqua Ribbon counts toward any Grand Festival for that year doesn't it? You only have to get four Ribbons."

"I feel so stupid," Dawn said, "you're absolutely right Ash. It'll still be difficult but that makes it easier."

"You're not stupid Dawn, it was an easy mistake to make. I'll help you get ready for the Gyms, so there's no need to worry." He winked at her as he used catchphrase.

"Thank you so much Ash." She said giving him a bright smile that made him feel happier than it probably should have.

"You know I might get a Contest Pass too. It would be good training for me and the Contests would allow me to test out a bunch of different Pokémon so I can be ready for the Pokémon League and Blue. That is, if you don't mind the competition."

"Not at all, it'll be fun."

"You know being here sure brings back a lot of memories," Ash mused, "Pikachu didn't like me very much when we started out. That all changed when we were attacked by a flock of Spearow on this very route. We both ended up saving each other and barely made it to Viridian City in a thunderstorm. Though we toasted Misty's bike in the process. We seem to have made a habit of that as he did it again with both you and May, sorry."

"Don't worry about the bike Ash. I told you, Team Rocket was after you at the time, I understand." Dawn assured him.

"I know but I still feel bad about it." Ash said. With that said he jetted off as Viridian City was now in their sights. As much as Ash loved his hometown of Pallet he always got a certain thrill from visiting the big cities. Viridian wasn't the biggest city in Kanto that honor went to Celadon, Viridian might be, second but there were a lot of big cities in Kanto it was hard to tell.

"Hey Ash, wait up!" Dawn called running after him.

"Heh, sorry Dawn, I guess I got a little over-excited again." Ash said as he fell back into step with her.

"No need to worry, you wouldn't be you if you didn't Ash." She smiled at him again. That weird fluttery happy feeling came over him again. Ash was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with him.

"Why don't you explore the city for a bit while I go pick up supplies for us, this journey won't be easy for us if we don't have anything to eat." He said.

"You can cook?" Dawn asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I had Brock teach me some before we left Sinnoh. I didn't know when I'd have another traveling companion or if they'd be able to cook so I decided to learn because I'd nearly starved in the beginning of my Hoenn journey before running into Brock again. Then I lucked out and had Cilan join me in Unova so I didn't have to cook for myself but I still made sure to pick up a few things from him too. My cooking probably won't be as good as either of theirs but at least we won't starve."

"I'm sure it will be just fine." Dawn said with a giggle.

"Alright, meet me outside the Pokémon Center in an hour. I should have everything by then."

Alright, that sounds good Ash." With that said Ash and Dawn parted ways for now. Ash was headed for the market and Dawn was off to wherever her feet decided to take her.

* * *

><p>It shouldn't have surprised Dawn when she found herself outside the Viridian Gym. After all that was the ultimate goal of this entire journey through Kanto. She'd be back here soon enough to battle the Gym Leader. No, not just the Gym Leader, the leader of Team Rocket.<p>

When she thought about it like that the building seemed to take on a darker, more sinister appearance, as if it were cloaked in shadow. She knew she was imagining it of course, the building itself was just that, a building. Yet looking at even the building with the knowledge of who owned it gave Dawn the chills.

Why did Silver want her to challenge this Gym so badly? Did he know who it belonged to? Just who was the red haired boy and why did he feel so familiar to her? There were so many questions about this whole situation that she just couldn't answer. He wasn't even sure if she was up to the challenge of defeating what was likely the leader of Team Rocket.

Ash had told her about what they'd done in Unova. Kidnapping Meloetta and summoning the Forces of Nature Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus in a bid to use their power to conquer the Unova region. Ash had also told her about how their leader had gone insane with power once he and the others had gotten Meloetta back and as a result tried to destroy Unova.

Just thinking about it made her mouth go dry. She knew Team Rocket was bad, she'd known that since the day she'd met them and protected Pikachu from them until Ash could find him. Even so, she had a hard time believing even Team Rocket would actually want to take over a region. At least not the three bumbling idiots she'd come to know.

Dawn looked to her side to see her ever present companion Prinplup; that was still strange. He'd only evolved recently so she still thought of him as Piplup. He seemed just as nervous as she was about this whole thing. She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse. Seeing her old friend slightly slumped over and shying away from the building really drove home how serious this whole situation was.

"You too huh?" She asked.

"Prinplup." Her starter said. If she had to guess, and she could make a pretty educated guess, that was a yes.

Dawn sighed. "I know how you feel, I'm just a Pokémon Coordinator. I'm not cut out for this sort of thing. Yeah we helped Ash and Brock back in Sinnoh but Ash did a lot more battling than we did. I have to wonder if we're strong enough to do whatever it is that Silver wants us to. We're good in Contest battles but this is different. At least we have Ash to help us prepare for what's coming.

"Prin Prinplup." He seemed to be more confident now which made Dawn relax some.

"Come on I don't want to hang around here anymore." She said. The pair walked away from the Gym with their spirits only slightly higher than when they'd arrived.

* * *

><p>Blue looked up at the Indigo Plateau and sighed. Honestly he hated the place, being one of the strongest Pokémon Trainers in the Kanto region had its perks to be sure, for one the food at the Plateau was some of the bet in the world and he had a number of lavish private villas all around the various regions that were reserved for use by the current Champion. Not that he got much chance to use those villas. Being Champion came with an enormous responsibility and a healthy amount of paperwork. He had to make sure that the regional Pokémon League ran smoothly every year among various other things that kept him from traveling.<p>

There was the biggest drawback to being Champion, once you reached that goal of being the best, at least the best in your region, you were pretty well stuck. You didn't get to travel anymore or at least not as much as any self-respecting Trainer would like. Most Champions adapted, they had to, but Blue chaffed under the restrictions of his job. He shouldn't even have this job, it should've been Red dealing with all this stuff.

His old rival hadn't seen it that way however. Red had defeated him but refused to stay on as Champion, thus leaving Blue with the job. Instead he'd gone around challenging all the other Champions and defeating them but also refusing to take their jobs. Thus Red had been given a title all his own: Champion of Champions or as some called it: Pokémon Master. Red Ketchum was a Trainer without peer, only the Champions themselves could even have a hope of defeating him, and even that hope was a bit of a long shot.

So it was decided that Red wouldn't be the Champion of any particular League. Instead he would serve as a sort of final test that only Champions would be able to challenge. So Blue had been stuck serving as Kanto Champion all this time because of his rival's own wanderlust.

He was tired of being Champion. He wanted to travel the world again, but he was stuck until someone defeated him. He could always throw a match but that would require someone to actually beat the Elite Four and earn the right to challenge him. Of course, even if there were a challenger that strong Blue's pride as a Trainer demanded that he fight them with everything he had. He'd just have to hope they were strong enough to beat him in a fair fight.

A small smile graced Blue's lips as he thought of the Trainer he'd just met in Pallet Town, his nephew Ash Ketchum. The kid still had some lessons to learn but he had potential, anyone with eyes could see that. The kid had already conquered the Kanto Battle Frontier and each of the Frontier Brains was on par with an Elite Four member. Honestly, if he fought smart his nephew could easily become a Champion in any region; that run in against Tobias and his Legendries in Sinnoh was just bad luck.

Well hopefully he'd gotten through to Ash and his nephew was now on the right path. At least one good thing had come from his trip to Pallet Town. Sure, it had rekindled his bitterness against Red but he'd given his nephew a valuable lesson and quite possibly helped Ash become the Trainer who would finally defeat him, and take his place as Champion. If Blue were really lucky Ash would defeat Red and drag him back to Pallet.

Such were concerns for later days however, right now he had to get back to his job and see if anything pressing needed his attention. He walked past the official League battlefield toward his Champion's villa and entered his home silently. His maid, Sarah approached him.

"Welcome back sir, how was your trip to Pallet?" The brown haired woman asked.

"It was fine, even enlightening in some ways," Blue answered, "Did I miss anything important while I was gone Sarah?"

"Actually sir, the Sinnoh Champion called while you were gone, she said it was urgent that she speak with you. She called from her villa in Unova." That got Blue's attention immediately. It wasn't often that Champions called each other, they had too much work to do to be very social. Not to mention that she was calling from Unova and not her home region of Sinnoh. Something really big must have happened.

"Thank you." He said before rushing off to the videophone and dialing the number for Cynthia's property in Unova. While Champions didn't talk all that much all of them had the numbers for all the other Champions' properties in case of some sort of national emergency or other such occurrence. It wasn't long before Cynthia's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Blue, I see you finally heard about my phone call." Cynthia said without preamble.

"This had better be good Cynthia, you know I'm not one for social calls. No matter who the caller is." For a tense moment the pair stared each other down from across the miles bridged by a digital connection. Blue would be the first to admit that the Sinnoh Champion could be intimidating when she wanted to be, some would even say that it added to her famous attractiveness but he didn't care about either of those things. Blue Oak wasn't known to be a patient man, nor one that could be easily cowed so this contest of wills just grated on him. As for Cynthia's beauty, there was only one woman for Blue and she had been gone a long time.

Finally Cynthia relented, "I'm sure you are aware of Team Rocket's various activities in other regions, but you may not be aware of their most recent actions in Unova. Actions their leader himself took part in."

"You met their leader?" Blue asked in shock.

"Indeed I did, the purpose of my call was to reveal his identity and detail the incident so that you may charge and arrest him for his crimes. Crimes that I witnessed myself."

"Ok, I'll bite. Who is he and what did he do?"

"Well this may come as a shock to you but the leader of Team Rocket is none other than the Viridian City Gym Leader Giovanni." The blonde Champion said. Instead of the shock most people would've expected a Champion to have when someone accused on of their Gym Leaders of a crime Blue had a completely different.

"Giovanni decided to take up his mother's work huh; it's a shame really he was an amazing Trainer back in the day right up there with Red and I. That's part why I made him Gym Leader in the first place. That and he and his mother didn't seem to get along all that well. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all. What did Team Rocket do this time?"

"They trespassed on my villa so that they could capture the Legendary Pokémon Meloetta which they then used to summon the Forces of Nature Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus in a bit a bid to take over the Unova region that I stopped with the help of your nephew, his friends, and Meloetta's guardian Ridley."

"This, Meloetta, was it Ridley's Pokémon?" Blue asked.

"No, it was wild."

"Then there's nothing I can do and you know it. Since Meloetta was wild we can't get him or his operatives for trespassing on your villa, there are laws in place to protect Trainers against being prosecuted for such things while trying to capture wild Pokémon, Legendary or not; the other Legendries involved were also wild so he hasn't done anything illegal on that front. In addition Giovanni and his operatives are Kanto citizens, the worst they could get from the Unova justice system is deportation and Alder would have to order that. Once they're back in Kanto, which they are, well any crime committed outside of Kanto is out of my jurisdiction."

"So you're just going to let him get away with this?" Cynthia growled.

"It's not that I don't believe you because I do, and you know I have no love for Team Rocket. All that aside however, legally my hands are tied here. Remember awhile back when those two Team Rocket operatives Butch and Cassidy were arrested in the Orange Archipelago? The Officer Jenny that was on that case was fired for that very reason. Can you imagine what would happen if a Champion did something like that? Until I can catch Giovanni doing something illegal here in Kanto I can't bust him no matter how much I want to."

"I see, thank you for your time Blue."

"Don't worry, I'll be keeping a close eye on Giovanni from here on out. Thank you for letting me know Cynthia." With that said Blue hung up the phone.

* * *

><p>Dawn eagerly stepped into the Pokémon Center with Ash. She was always amazed by how no matter where she went the inside of a Pokémon Center looked the same as everywhere else. It had been quite a shock when she found out that Nurse Joys looked different in Unova, even if it was otherwise the same. So Dawn was secretly relieved to see a Nurse Joy like the ones they had back home in Sinnoh behind the counter; it just put her at ease.<p>

She was getting off track though. She needed to focus on the reason she was here so she approached the counter where Nurse Joy was waiting to meet whatever needs the Trainers who passed through Viridian City might have. "Hello," Dawn said, "I'd like to register for Pokémon Contests please.

"Certainly, just hand me your Pokédex and I'll take care of that for you," Nurse Joy said with a smile. Dawn did as she was asked, "This says that you're Dawn Berlitz from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Dawn said.

"Alright then Dawn, here are your Kanto Contest pass and Ribbon case. Is there anything else I can do for you?

"Actually yes, does Kanto have Badge cases as well?" Dawn asked.

"Yes we do, here you go." Dawn took the Badge case and thanked Nurse Joy for her help before stepping away from the counter. A few minutes later Ash had gotten his Contest Pass and they were on the road again.

"Well Dawn, the closest Gym is in Pewter City," Ash said as they walked through the streets on their way out of Viridian, "You can get a Boulder Badge there. We'll have to go through Viridian Forest to get there."

"Pewter City isn't that where Brock is from?" Dawn asked. Ash nodded.

"Yeah Brock used to be Pewter City's Gym Leader but he gave that position to his brother Forrest. I actually got my first Badge from Brock."

"That's so cool; I can't wait to see Brock again!" Dawn said. Ash chuckled, as much trouble as she gave him for being excitable sometimes Dawn could be just as bad. Not that Ash saw that as a bad thing; he actually seemed find it quite endearing.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to see him again, but we'll have to get through the forest first and that will take at least a day, if we don't get lost."

"We can handle anything together No need to worry."

"That's when I worry the most." Ash said with a playful smirk.

"Did you really have to go there Ash? I thought we were past that."

"Sorry I couldn't resist. I didn't mean anything by it." Dawn sighed.

"I know, let's just go."

The trek through Viridian Forest was a quiet one for the first few hours. Ash and Dawn just travelled in companionable silence except for when they needed to check the map. That is until Dawn felt something slimy brush up against her leg. She looked down to find a green caterpillar next to her. Then she shrieked.

Ash turned to see what was wrong and sighed, it's just a Caterpie Dawn it won't hurt y-"

"It's so cute! I want to catch it," she saw Ash blink in surprise, "What's wrong."

"It just wasn't the reaction I was expecting; When Misty first saw my Caterpie, which was the first Pokémon I ever caught, she treated it really badly even though it just wanted to be her friend because she thought bugs were gross. Go ahead, catch it, it'll be great for Contests, especially when it evolves into Butterfree." Dawn nodded and pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it into the air.

"Pachirisu spotlight!" She said. The ball opened with a pop and a white light exited and headed toward that Caterpie!"

"Pachirisu!" The Pokémon said with a nod. The little squirrel covered itself in blue electricity and charged its opponent. The caterpillar went flying but as sparks of static tried to surround the Caterpie a fine mote of dust fell from the green bug stopping it from being paralyzed.

"That Caterpie must have Shield Dust." Dawn mused digesting the new information about the Pokémon she wanted to catch. The Caterpie was doing his best to get away with Pachirisu chasing after. Realizing it wasn't getting away turned around and fired its String Shot.

"Dodge it Pachirisu!" Dawn cried out, and to the electric squirrel tried but just wasn't quick enough. Slowly, but surely Pachirisu was being encased in a cocoon. Dawn began to panic.

"Use Discharge to blast the strings away!" She commanded. Pachirisu gathered electricity in its cheeks and then released it from in a large burst, from all over its body. As planned the attack blasted away the String Shot and continued on to hit the Caterpie. The poor little bug was looking much worse for the wear now.

Dawn pulled out a Pokéball and enlarged it to catching size and threw it at the weakened Caterpie. The ball opening and automatically turned Caterpie into red light and taking it inside. Now the moment of truth would come. The ball shook once. Twice. Three times. Finally with a resounding ping the ball stopped shaking, the capture complete.

"Congratulations Dawn." Ash said approaching her with his hand raised. She knew what to do with that and raised her hand accordingly. The pair shared in their traditional high five; it was something they did whenever either something successful.

"Thanks Ash." She said before walking over to pick up the ball. When she did pick up the Pokéball Dawn found that it disappeared in white light and flew away, "What?"

"Relax Dawn, you can only carry six Pokémon with you. Caterpie just went to Professor Rowan's lab to be kept. Once we get to Pewter City you can call Professor Rowan and send one of the Pokémon you have with you in exchange for Caterpie if you want. I was just as confused when I got my seventh Pokémon, a Krabby."

"I see," Dawn said, "I'm not sure I want to send any of my team away but I do want to train my new Caterpie…" Dawn hung her head sadly.

"Don't worry about it, you have time to think about it. Let's keep going." Ash said.

"Alright." Dawn replied.

* * *

><p>It was several hours later when Ash and Dawn were sleeping that Team Rocket began to concoct their next plan. It had taken some doing to figure out that the twerp was going back to Kanto, in fact he'd almost given them the slip for the first time in well, ever thanks to the suddenness of the decision.<p>

Still Team Rocket was not to be dissuaded from their goal of capturing Pikachu. They were a good distance away from the twerp, so as not to wake them up and give themselves away. They had enough trouble capturing Pikachu as it was; they didn't need to help the twerp by giving themselves away _before_ they sprang the trap.

"Twerp at twelve o'clock," James said as he looked through the binoculars, "and it looks like he's got the Sinnoh twerpette with him."

"What's she doing here?" Jessie asked with a scowl. James sighed inwardly. Jessie was still less than happy that the twerpette had done better than her in the Sinnoh Grand Festival. He cared about her a lot but Jessie could be rather petty at times.

"Does it matter why they're here? All we need to do is go nab all their Pokémon and give them to the boss. That's our job, not understanding the twerps." Meowth cut in.

"He has a point you know." James said.

"Alright, Operation: Steal Twerp Pokémon is a go." Jessie declared happily.

"All this time and you're still chasing after Ash and his Pikachu, how pathetic." A gruff voice interrupted the trio's plotting. They turned to find a purple haired boy and scowled. They knew this twerp: Paul. While Team Rocket hated Ash and his friends, they at least had a grudging respect for them, though none of the trio would ever admit to that. With Paul there was no such respect due to the way he treated his Pokémon. Only caring about strength, abandoning them at any perceived failure, not to mention how he'd treated Ash's Infernape back when he was a Chimchar and still belonged to Paul. You could say many things about the Team Rocket Trio, but when it came to Pokémon that belonged to their little group they were as loving as any Trainer could be and thus Paul disgusted them.

"What are you doing here?" James asked.

"I don't believe that is any of your business, but while I'm here I might as well take out the trash."

"Oh, you want to take us on do you," Jessie asked, "You'll regret that. Go Frillish!" The pink jellyfish Pokémon popped out of its Pokéball ready for battle.

"You too Amoonguss!" James called letting the mushroom-like Pokémon join the fight.

"Those are Pokémon from the Unova region. This should be interesting," Paul mused, "Froslass, Gastrodon, stand by for battle!" With twin pops the blue sea slug and white ghost Pokémon both appeared to serve their Trainer.

"Go Frillish use Shadow Ball on Froslass!" Jessie commanded. Frillish put two of its tentacles together and formed a purplish black ball between them which it fired at Froslass.

"Amoonguss use Hidden Power on the twerp's Gastrodon!" James called. Amoonguss crossed its arms and its body become outlined in light green energy. It then opened its arms, and multiple light green orbs of energy appeared around it. Amoonguss then pointed the top if its head at Gastrodon and spins, firing the orbs at its opponent.

"Froslass counter with your own Shadow Ball, Gastrodon counter with Ice Beam." Paul's tone was bored, as if he found Team Rocket's efforts to attack him almost beneath his notice. Needless to say the trio was burned up by this.

Froslass put its hands together and fired its own Shadow ball while Gastrodon fired, as was appropriate an icy blue beam from its mouth. The attacks collided with those of their attackers and quickly overpowered them, resulting in Frillish flying backward in an explosion and Amoonguss being completely frozen.

"This is just pathetic, you're Pokémon are weak. Let's end this with a combination attack. Gastrodon use Muddy Water, and Froslass use Ice Beam." Gastrodon summoned a giant brown wave of water out of thin air and was riding it toward Team Rocket. Meanwhile Froslass fired an Ice Beam identical to Gastrodon's previous one, completely turning the wave into ice. The now solid chunk of ice was carried forward by its own momentum and slammed into Team Rocket and their Pokémon, shattering and sending them flying into the air.

"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They shouted before making their traditional star twinkle exit.

* * *

><p>A man in a brown coat stepped off a plane in the Unova region. His name was something only he knew and he wasn't about to tell anyone. Here people just called him Looker. It was a name he'd chosen for himself after a fashion. It was just another face for him, and he'd worn many over the years, but it still felt strange to him.<p>

Not because he missed his real name, no he hadn't used that in a _very_ long time. It was just that he'd had to give up his favored alias to become Looker. It wouldn't have meant anything to anyone here, but the wrong word in the wrong place could have dire consequences. Maybe one day he would return to his true home and he'd be able to take up that mantle again.

Home, how long had it been since he'd been there? Still he was doing what had to be done. He was needed here for reasons only he could understand. That was why he'd joined the International Police in the first place. Truth be told Looker liked working with the International Police, they were far less militant than other groups he'd joined with in the past and that was more his style; that and his membership gave him jurisdiction to operate anywhere in the world.

It had been quite the ordeal getting them to accept a complete unknown into the International Police, but Looker had to get in, so he'd used every trick at his disposal to do so. Then he had to work his way up the ladder so to speak, doing rather menial jobs before they sent him to Sinnoh to keep track of Team Galactic, just as planned.

It was there that he met two people that were going to be far more important to the future than they could ever comprehend: Ash Ketchum and Dawn Berlitz. After meeting them he'd looked into their history a bit and according to the reports Ash had run into just about every Legendary Pokémon imaginable and had influenced quite a few of them, as well as helping foil the plans of Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn. Dawn's résumé, while considerably less impressive, still had her as the chosen of Mesprit even still all that paled in comparison to what was coming for those two.

Looker shook his head to clear his thoughts, he had to focus on his current mission. Tracking down and stopping Team Plasma. They like all the other evil teams, so Looker had taken to calling these regional organizations out to cause trouble, were after a Legendary Pokémon and had to be stopped. Of course Looker also had a more personal mission to carry out that the International Police didn't know about.

There were some people Looker needed to find, very important people. Their names were Iris, Cilan, and strange as it was, N. The fact that these people were likely to run into Team Plasma was a happy coincidence. They were important to Looker, or at least Iris and Cilan were, because they could contact Ash and Dawn. Those two would be important if things went south and Team Plasma somehow managed to get a hold of the Reshiram they wanted and since these things always seemed to go south that would be _very_ important.

Still he couldn't exactly complete his mission if he just stood around thinking in the airport. So Looker started to walk, then feeling a bit more exuberant, broke into a run. His face split into a Cheshire Cat grin as he ran. His next adventure was starting and he wasn't about to be late for it. Unable to hold back his emotion any longer Looker spoke the one word that always reminded him of who he really was.

"Allons-y!"

* * *

><p>Ash woke a little later than usual that next morning. He wasn't sure why he'd been so tired but he didn't dwell on it. He quickly got up and put on his jacket, shoes, and hat. Pikachu who had also just gotten up hopped up on to his shoulder and Ash pet his oldest Pokémon companion affectionately.<p>

It was then that Ash noted that Dawn was missing, her sleeping bag empty and that Prinplup was also nowhere to be seen either. He shrugged it off though, figuring that Dawn had just gotten up earlier than him and had gone to the bathroom or something, Prinplup joining her because the forest was dangerous. So he set up the outdoor kitchen he'd purchased in Viridian City and started cooking breakfast. Pancakes sounded good today. He hoped that Dawn wouldn't mind, and more importantly he hoped that she liked his cooking; he wasn't sure what he would do if she didn't.

Ash shook his head to clear it. What was going on with him lately? He'd been having a lot of those kinds of thoughts about Dawn recently. Wanting to see her be happy because something about her smile made his stomach want to do flips. Wanting to please her in any way he could, this just wasn't normal.

He was drug out of his thoughts when he heard Dawn scream. He immediately jumped to his feet, Pikachu barely staying on his shoulder after the quick motion. Ash started to run in the direction of the scream, leaving his half cooked pancakes on the griddle. They'd probably be badly burned by the time he got back, but he didn't care; he could always make more after all. Dawn needed his help, and that was all he needed to know.

What he found was Dawn and Prinplup against a tree with a boy holding her at sword point. Other than the sword the most notable things about the boy were that he was wearing a samurai kabuto and was carrying a bug catching net. Ash froze as he realized he knew this person.

"Samurai?" The boy turned toward him, sheathing his katana, and smiled.

"Ah, Ash, just the person I was looking for. I have travelled far and wide across many regions hoping to find you so that I could challenge you again. It must be fate that I would find you here where we first met. I challenge you to a battle Ash Ketchum." Samurai said.

"It's not that I wouldn't love to battle you Samurai," Ash said, "but why were you pointing your sword at Dawn?"

"I heard her mention your name and wished to know your whereabouts so that we could have our battle."

"You know you could have just asked me right?" Dawn asked flatly.

"Yes I apologize Dawn, I do tend to get a bit overexcited at times." Samurai said.

"A bit? You pointed a katana at me." Dawn muttered.

"Samurai I will battle you but Dawn and I haven't had breakfast yet, can we go back to our campsite and eat first. I've got pancakes on the griddle and you're welcome to join us."

"I would be glad to join you for breakfast, thank you." Samurai said. Ash led them back to the campsite and checked on the pancakes. He then said a silent thank you to Arceus when he saw that they'd gotten back before the food had burned. He wanted his cooking skill to make a good first impression on Dawn after all. Between Brock and Cilan he had a lot to live up to.

After a quick check to make sure the food was actually ready he began to serve the others present. He then started to feed his and Dawn's Pokémon, he had some Pokémon food that was given to him as a parting gift from Cilan, but that probably wouldn't last too long, especially since Charizard would be joining them once they got to Pewter City. Thankfully Samurai had assured him that his Pokémon had already been fed, otherwise it would've been impolite not to feed them, but would've really strained his supplies. He'd have to make his own soon, he'd picked that skill up from Brock as well.

With that done Ash sat down to eat his own food, after drowning it in maple syrup, and he ate it quickly. After all once they were done there was a Pokémon battle to be had. It would be his first battle since Blue had trounced him and he was going to win it, Ash was a little nervous of course, hadn't used most of the Pokémon he had with him in some time, but he had to try, he needed to figure out which of his Pokémon were the strongest.

"These pancakes are really good Ash, I doubt Brock could've done any better." Dawn said brightly. For some reason that comment made his cheeks warm, and he turned away so Dawn and Samurai wouldn't be able to see his blush.

"Thanks Dawn." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

"I agree the food was very good, but there are more important things to be done, like our Pokémon battle." Samurai said.

"Right, just let me clean up first." Ash said. It only took a few minutes for Ash to put away the outdoor kitchen and clean and put away the dishes, and putting his Pokémon back in their Pokéballs as was tradition right before a battle. Now that there was actually enough room to have a battle that wouldn't destroy something Ash was ready.

"Well Ash, how does a three on three Pokémon battle sound to you and the winner will get to keep this Heart Scale that I found. I haven't found any use for it yet but I can tell it's valuable." Samurai said. He held out the item for Ash and Dawn to see. As its name implied it was shaped like a heart and it seemed to glow faintly with all the colors of the rainbow.

"That sounds fine to me, you can choose first." Ash said.

"Alright then, Beedrill, I choose you!" Samurai threw the Pokéball and with a pop and a shimmer of white light the bee Pokémon appeared. Ash was very familiar with Beedrill's capabilities and typing. The only thing he was carrying with him that would be super-effective against it was Swellow, but since Samurai specialized in Bug types Ash wanted to hold Swellow in reserve for any more powerful Pokémon he had and not tire it out.

"Totodile, I choose you!" The small alligator Pokémon popped out of its Lure Ball and did a little happy dance like it always did when it was sent into battle.

"Beedrill, use Toxic Spikes!" Samurai commanded. A purple orb formed between Beedrill's stingers which it then launched into the air. The orb split and several purple spikes fell to the ground before seemingly fading away. Ash knew better than that though, the spikes were still there, even if they were invisible. Any Pokémon he switched into, except Muk or Swellow would be poisoned now. Muk could get rid of the spikes and resist Bug type moves, but Samurai was a Bug type specialist so he would probably have a counter for Muk, and he wanted to save Swellow as an ace in the hole so it looked like Totodile was going to have to last as long as he could.

"Totodile use Water Gun!" Totodile did an abbreviated version of its happy dance and complied, firing a jet of water from his mouth.

"Dodge it Beedrill and use Twineedle!" Samurai commanded. To Beedrill's credit it did try to dodge and it almost succeeded, but it wasn't quite quick enough and the Water Gun clipped its left wing. Still the damage taken would only be minor so it continued on with its attack, dive-bombing Totodile with its stingers outstretched.

The Beedrill was scary fast, like a yellow and black blur. Ash was pretty sure Totodile wouldn't be able to dodge the attack normally as things were, but there were other ways to stop an attack and he had a rather good one in his arsenal that would also damage his opponent. "Totodile, get down flat on the ground, use Water Gun and spin!" This was just the Counter Shield that he'd perfected in Sinnoh, but Totodile had never used it before so he had to explain it in the most basic of terms so his Pokémon could execute it properly.

Totodile did as he was told as was own spinning and surrounded by a shield of water the sprayed upward in all directions. As Beedrill tried to get close it was repeated battered by the streams which made up the shield as was forced to retreat, obviously worse for the wear.

"Very impressive Ash," Samurai complimented, "I have never seen a Water Gun attack used in such a way."

"It's called the Counter Shield, it's a technique I learned while traveling through the Sinnoh region; it can be used both offensively and defensively as you just saw." After having Blue call him out on not using it with his Unova Pokémon Ash had devised a way to teach it to his other Pokémon on the fly and as Totodile had just shown, it worked.

Samurai nodded in respect. "Very clever, but I won't be enough to save you," Totodile had since stopped his Counter Shield, "Beedrill use Poison Jab!" The bee Pokémon charged down toward Totodile, its stingers turning a poisonous purple.

"Totodile, use the Counter Shield again!" Ash commanded. Totodile got into position and started his Water Gun Counter Shield again. Samurai smirked.

"I told you that wouldn't work twice. Beedrill, use Agility to dodge between the streams." Beedrill approached the Counter Shield speedily, fading in and out as it dodged between the water streams. Finally, once it got past the streams it slammed its Poison Jab into Totodile, bot stopping the Counter Shield and sending the little gator skidding backward.

"Totodile, are you okay?" Ash asked. The little alligator Pokémon got up, clearly pained but ready to fight. Then Totodile's entire body flashed purple and the poor little Pokémon winced in pain. Totodile was poisoned.

Ash growled in frustration. This battle had just gotten a lot harder. A poisoned Pokémon would steadily take damage as time went on. He wasn't sure how long Totodile would last. On top of that the Counter Shield had been breached. No one had ever thought of fighting it like that. Ash had to give Samurai his respect.

"Beedrill use Twineedle!" Samurai said. Beedrill charged again, stingers gleaming as they caught sunlight through the trees.

"Dodge it Totodile!" He did as he was told ad dodge the repeated stinger strikes, barely. Then Totodile flashed purple again, wincing in pain. The final Twineedle attack struck home, the little gator skidded back slightly. This was looking very bad.

"Beedrill finish this up with Poison Jab!" Ash had to do something _now_. He needed some genius maneuver to turn this around. He was good at that.

"Totodile, point your Water Gun at the ground!" Ash screamed. Totodile did so, the water jet shooting him up into the air. Beedrill tried to follow and land its attack but Totodile's ascent was just that much faster.

"Now jump on to Beedrill's back." Totodile stopped his water gun and spun toward Beedrill landing on the opposing Pokémon's back. Beedrill wasn't as large as the more bird like Flying type Pokémon and so with Totodile on its back Beedrill crashed to the ground. Beedrill was now unable to attack, now was the time for Ash to strike.

"Use Bite!" Ash said. Totodile bit down on the nape of Beedrill's neck; the Dark type move wouldn't be very effective against a Bug type Pokémon but Beedrill had already been weakened by the battle and had no visible way to escape. The bee Pokémon cried out in obvious pain, struggling to get free. Unfortunately for the poor Beedrill Totodile's jaws were strong and he couldn't escape the grip. Finally Beedrill faded into unconsciousness, unable to struggle any longer.

"Way to Ash!" Dawn cheered and Ash turned to her and smiled weakly. He removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm. This had been a good first victory, but the battle was far from over. That done he put the hat back on.

"Beedrill, return," Samurai said, then he pulled out another Pokéball, "Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash looked at the butterfly Pokémon and sighed. There was that Poison type counter. Butterfree could learn some Psychic type moves and thus a Poison type like Muk would be vulnerable. There went any immediate hope of getting rid of those Toxic Spikes.

"That Butterfree, is that the Metapod that you had when we first met?" Ash asked.

"Why yes, it is." Samurai said. That nostalgia made Ash smile a bit. Not that it mattered in the long run.

"Butterfree us Psychic!" Samurai said. Totodile was lifted off the ground surrounded by a pale blue light and slammed into a tree. Totodile faded into unconsciousness.

"Totodile, return!" Ash said calling his Pokémon back to its Pokéball. "You did great, take a good rest." Now he had to choose which Pokémon to send out. Again Swellow came to mind right away. Swellow wouldn't be effected by the Toxic Spikes because it was a Flying type but he wasn't sure if Swellow could take two Pokémon on its own, if they were in the same league as that Beedrill and Swellow was his ace in the hole.

Of course there was one Pokémon that he could count on no matter what. It was that Pokémon that he would call on now, his Electric type attacks would be super effective on a Butterfree anyway. "Pikachu, it's your turn."

"Pika!" The electric rodent said as he hopped down off of Ash's shoulder and on to the battlefield. Immediately Pikachu's body flashed that poisonous purple and the Pokémon grunted in pain.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu let out the surge of electricity from his cheeks.

"Dodge it Butterfree!" Samurai shouted. The butterfly Pokémon dodged the Thunderbolt rather easily, much to Ash's shock. "Now use Silver Wind!" Butterfree flapped its wings and a silver gust shot towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack!" Ash called. Pikachu did his best to dodge around the gust of wind with a white streak trailing behind him. Still even as he dodged it was buffeted in small amounts when he just wasn't quick enough. Still Pikachu was weaving his way toward Butterfree. He was almost there, ready to strike, but Butterfree gracefully dodged out of the way.

"Use Psychic Butterfree!" Suddenly Pikachu was surrounded by a pale blue light and was lifted form the ground. Then like Totodile before him Pikachu was slammed into a tree, unlike Totodile he didn't fall into unconsciousness, so he was swung into another tree on the other side of the clearing. Pikachu grunted in pain again, also flashing in purple again. As was a bit nervous, he hated Psychic type attacks for this very reason.

As Pikachu was swung over Butterfree's head and toward that that first tree Ash called out to his oldest friend.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt! Once again Pikachu let out a bolt of electricity. This one actually hit Butterfree causing it to drop its psychic hold on Pikachu. However the momentum that Pikachu had while flying toward the tree was maintained so he was still flying toward the tree.

"Bounce off the tree with Quick attack! Then go into an Iron Tail!" When Pikachu reached the tree he turned in the air just before impact allowing him to land with his feet and bounce off initiating a Quick Attack as he did so. The yellow mouse flew through the air with a white streak trailing behind him; then he turned around in midair, keeping all his momentum as he did, his tail turning a metallic silver. Pikachu slammed tail first into Butterfree who didn't have time to react, twisting to the side as to hit with maximum striking power, sending both Pokémon crashing to the ground. Pikachu got back up, Butterfree didn't.

Once again Pikachu flashed that poisonous purple color and Ash cursed those Toxic Spikes. Pikachu was a fast and powerful Pokémon, strong enough to fight even those of a regional Champion, as his battle with Blue had demonstrated. However Pikachu's defensive stats were lacking. Between the poison and being slammed into those trees Pikachu wouldn't last much longer in battle and Ash knew it. It was time to call his old friend back and send in Swellow.

"Pikachu come on back, you've done enough for today." Ash said. The yellow Pokémon hopped off of the impromptu battlefield and sighed in relief at not having to fight anymore. It was obvious how worn out the little guy was.

"You have done well so far Ash and I commend you for your efforts, but this is where the battle turns in my favor. I have something I wish to show you, but I will let you send out your replacement Pokémon first." Samurai declared. Ash quirked an eyebrow at this odd behavior. What did Samurai have that he was so sure could beat anything he sent out. It didn't really matter, he would find a way to beat it; Ash was good at that.

"Alright, Swellow, I choose you!" With a pop the red, white, and blue Hoenn emerged from its Pokéball. Samurai nodded knowingly.

"A Flying type, as you know my personal preference for Bug-type Pokémon this was indeed a smart choice for the final member of your tea. Knowing you your Swellow will be quite formidable, but it will not be strong enough for what I have coming. Pinsir, I choose you!" A dull brown Pokémon with a segmented body ad limbs and a large pair of gray, spiky pincers on top of its head appeared. In its mouth were many long, flat teeth arranged horizontally.

"As you may have guessed, this is the same Pinsir I had when we first battled here in Viridian Forest Ash, but like my Metapod, it has found a way to transcend its limitations and reach a more powerful form. My Pinsir has found a way to evolve!"

Ash blinked and looked at Samurai as if he had gone insane. That Pinsir, was still, well a Pinsir. It hadn't evolved; if it had it wouldn't be a Pinsir anymore.

"Samurai, I know a lot about Pokémon," Ash finally said, "enough to know that Pinsir doesn't evolve into anything at that your Pinsir hasn't evolved. If it had, well, it wouldn't be what it is"

"That is true Pinsir does not evolve in the normal fashion that Pokémon do, but there is more than one way for a Pokémon to evolve." Samurai said.

"More than one way for a Pokémon to evolve? What are you talking about?" Samurai was speaking absolute nonsense now, in defiance of everything Ash knew about Pokémon.

"In the far-off region of Kalos there are, shall we say, peculiar stones. These stones are called Key Stones and Mega Stones. All Key Stones are the same, but Mega Stones vary depending on what Pokémon can use them, and only certain Pokémon can. For instance there is Blastinite for Blastoise and two different types of Charizinite for a Charizard… and Pinsirite. These stones when used in conjunction by a Trainer and Pokémon that have a strong bond allow the Pokémon to achieve a unique kind of evolution that temporarily changes its form, and ability, and sometimes even its typing; for instance Pinsir gains the Flying type without changing its species. This is called Mega Evolution."

"And you have a Key Stone and Mega Stone. This Pinsirite you mentioned. Your Pinsir can Mega Evolve." Ash said.

"Yes that is the case, this is my Key Stone." Samurai said showing him and Dawn a rainbow colored stone with a black double helix pattern in the center embedded in a black band on his left arm.

"It's beautiful, I've never seen anything like it." Dawn breathed.

"Yes, it is rather breathtaking isn't it, but what it does is even more amazing, My Pinsir is wearing its Mega Stone in a band on its left arm and when I press the Key Stone like this…" Samurai pressed two fingers from his right hand into the Key Stone and raised his left arm into the air. A loud sort of whirring sound filled the air at almost deafening levels and violet streams of static like energy were emitted from the stone and Pinsir was encased in an energy sphere.

The whirring grew in frequency and pitch and there was a blinding white light. Then the sound of something shattering followed by Pinsir's cry. When the light cleared Pinsir had been transformed. As Mega Pinsir, it gained a large pair of clear wings with an area of orange venation. Additionally, a set of wing coverings appeared. On each wing cover was a pair of large, thin, orange blades. Its arms became longer and more segmented, with triangular extensions on its lower arms. The pincers on its head were now longer with larger spikes, and its eyes were now yellow.

Ash looked at the Mega Pokémon in awe. Pinsir had looked mean before but Mega Pinsir was something else entirely. If he were to be honest with himself, if looks were any indication of Mega Pinsir's power, then he wasn't sure Swellow could win this battle, but they'd try anyway.

"That was so cool! I can't wait to see how much stronger Pinsir has gotten now it Mega Evolved!" Ash said turning his hat backwards. It wasn't a lie by any stretch, despite the initial intimidation a powerful opponent could only excite Ash.

He was about to command Swellow to attack and start the battle but was cut off by a large gust of wind from the left and what sounded like a sonic boom. Then he saw a Pokémon in front of Swellow. It was a large brown and cream bird with a red and yellow crest. Ash smiled broadly, this was a Pokémon he hadn't seen in a _very_ long time.

"Pidgeot!" The bird cried. By the tone of its voice Ash could tell what his old friend wanted; it wanted to take Swellow's place in this battle. Technically speaking Pidgeot wasn't Ash's Pokémon anymore, he'd released it before going to the Orange Islands in order to protect some Pidgey and Pidgeotto from a flock of Spearow and a Fearow in the forest but it still belonged it him in spirit. That Fearow had a pretty nasty grudge against Ash but that was another story.

"Samurai is it okay if I swap out Swellow for Pidgeot?" Ash asked.

"I am fine with this change." Samurai said.

"And what about you Swellow?" Ash asked. Swellow voiced its assent. Ash didn't call Swellow back to its Pokéball as he thought it might learn something from watching Pidgeot. He did however pull out his Pokédex to check on Pidgeot's moves. It knew Quick Attack, Gust, Aerial Ace, and Brave Bird, a nice selection of moves indeed.

Wordlessly bot Pidgeot and Mega Pinsir took to the sky. These two Poke and battled before, back when Ash and Samurai had first met. Pidgeot had been a Pidgeotto back then and Ash had overused it causing Pidgeotto to lose to Pinsir due to exhaustion. Things would be different this time.

"Pinsir use Stone Edge!" Samurai commanded. Ash's breath caught, this Pinsir knew a powerful Rock type move? Was he just going to have no luck today? Two light blue rings surrounded Pinsir's body which were replaced by white glowing rocks that flew at Pidgeot.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Pidgeot picked up speed, a white streak trailing behind it as it dodged between the rocks. It moved to hit Pinsir with the Quick Attack but Pidgeot's opponent dodged without being commanded, if only barely.

"Go, use X-Scissor Pinsir!" Pinsir crossed its arms in an X shape and charged, trying to strike Pidgeot.

"Dodge and use Aerial Ace!" The X-Scissor managed to clip Pidgeot's wing but did no appreciable damage due to resistance so Pidgeot continued forward with its own attack. Pidgeot flew at Mega Pinsir, flipped in the air, then it became engulfed in streaks of white light and flew into Mega Pinsir, disappearing before hitting it.

"Substitute!" Samurai called out at the last possible second. Just as the Aerial Ace hit Pinsir was replaced by a little grey doll. The doll shattered from the damage of the attack but Pinsir wasn't taking that damage which likely would've been more than it cost to create the Substitute.

"Now use Stone Edge!" As Mega Pinsir reappeared where the Substitute used to be it once again used Stone Edge and this time Pidgeot had no chance of avoiding it. Ash winced as the super effective attack hit, but his old friend still looked ready to fight.

Ash knew he'd have to end this quickly, Pidgeot couldn't take many more hits like that, and fortunately he had just the move for this situation. "Pidgeot use Brave Bird!" Pidgeot flew up, closed its wings as it flew, burst into flames, and dove down toward Mega Pinsir. The fire then disappeared and Pidgeot was covered by a blue aura.

"Going all in, are you Ash? Fine then we will as well. Pinsir use Guillotine! This really would be an all or nothing clash, Guillotine was a One-hit knockout move. If it hit Pidgeot was down, but if Brave Bird hit first, Mega Pinsir would likely go down.

Pinsir's horns began to glow and it flew up toward the oncoming Pidgeot, hoping to grab its opponent in them and end the battle. The two Pokémon collided head on and there was, as there usually was in such situations, a large explosion. As the dust cleared, Mega Pinsir fell from the sky, hitting the ground hard and reverting to normal. It took a second for Ash to realize what that meant: He'd won the battle.

As Ash ran forward to congratulate Pidgeot on a job well done something happened that Ash didn't register quickly enough. Pidgeot was using Aerial Ace, and it was targeted directly at him. The next thing Ash knew Swellow as in front of him taking the hit.

"Pidgeot, what are you doing?" The Pokémon made no attempt to give an answer but instead just insisted on trying to attack Ash. Again Swellow protected its Trainer. At this point Ash went numb from the shock leaving the two Flying types to take to the air and clash again and again. Despite the damage Pidgeot had taken its battle with Mega Pinsir it was clearly outclassing Swellow at every turn.

Swellow fell from the sky beaten and battered and Pidgeot moved toward its target once more. "Prinplup use Ice Beam on Pidgeot!" Ash heard Dawn command as if from a great distance. Pidgeot dodged it gracefully and kept moving toward Ash.

Once again Swellow defended Ash despite its rather severe injuries. Pidgeot kept knocking it down but it kept getting back up. Dawn kept trying to stop it but Pidgeot avoided all of her attacks. Finally the beat down was stopped by a Thunderbolt. Ash looked toward Pikachu in surprise, but no his old friend was too weak to pull off a Thunderbolt that powerful and it had come from the wrong direction. It had come from behind Pidgeot.

"And to think I lost to you, how pathetic." Ash recognized that voice. He turned in the direction it'd come from to see Paul and his Electivire standing on the other side of the clearing.

"Paul, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked, but he ignored her.

"You released that Pidgeot, didn't you Ash? No Pokémon that still officially belonged to a Trainer would attack that Trainer of its own will." Paul said.

"Yeah, I did so, it could protect some Pokémon here in the forest until a flock of Spearow left. I always meant to come back for it…"

"And just how long has it been since you left Pidgeot?' Paul asked. Ash was silent, it had been a long time now that he thought about it like that and he'd been through Viridian Forest three time since without even checking on Pidgeot.

"That's what I thought, so you essentially abandoned Pidgeot, and got yourself a few new Flying types since then. It's no wonder it attacked you. The only reason it even battled that Mega Pinsir for you was to show you what you'd been missing out on."

"I'm sure Ash didn't mean to hurt Pidgeot like this." Dawn said immediately jumping to Ash's defense.

"What he meant to do doesn't matter! What matters is what he _did_. After all that grief you gave me for how I treated Chimchar, you'd been pulling something like this the entire time. You make me sick Ash, you're nothing but a hypocrite. I've lost all respect I had for you. All that talk of having friendship with you Pokémon was just that, talk. Don't worry though, Pidgeot will be going with a Trainer who actually deserves to have a Pokémon strong enough to take down a Mega Evolved opponent."

Without another word Paul pulled out and enlarged an empty Pokéball and threw it at Pidgeot. Just like Dawn's Caterpie before it Pidgeot was turned into Red energy and taken into the Pokéball. The ball shook once, twice, three times. With that same resounding ping, although to Ash it had a much more sinister tone than ever before, Pidgeot was captured.

The ball vanished, probably going to Reggie's to be taken care of. Ash sank to his knees. His Pidgeot was Paul's now and everything Paul had just said about him was true. Paul left with one last parting shot. "I look forward to defeating you in the Pokémon League."

Ash just keeled there for he didn't know how long, numb. He didn't feel or hear anything until Dawn started tugging on his arm. "Ash! Ash! We have to get Swellow to a Pokémon Center!" Dawn cried frantically. His mid on autopilot Ash recalled Swellow and Dawn began dragging the unresponsive boy to Pewter City.

* * *

><p>So I think I just broke Ash. Don't worry, he won't be staying that way for long, he never does. I don't really think Ash is a horrible person but it was kind of a dick move to tell Pidgeot he'd come back for it and never actually do it.<p>

That said Ash's Pidgeot belongs to Paul now. Oh I am going to get so much shit for that. I figured this would be a good way to reignite their antagonistic rivalry though, and yes, Paul is Ash's official rival for this story. Plus this is kind of a reverse of what the show did what Ash's Infernape.

Sorry about the long wait, but you get a 10,000+ word chapter. On the bright side next time we get to Pewter City, Dawn's first Gym battle and a reunion with Brock and Charizard.


	4. Chapter 4: Pewter City

**Sins of the Fathers**

Disclaimer: Pokémon's various videogame, anime, and manga rights belong to their respective holders of which I am not one.

**Chapter 4: Pewter City  
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Dawn rushed for the Pewter City Pokémon Center as fast as her legs would carry her. She was no medical expert but she knew Swellow needed to be seen right away. Unfortunately she was slowed down by having to literally drag Ash behind her.

Her friend was just completely unresponsive. She'd never seen him like this and it _terrified_ her. Normally Ash would've been the on rushing off like this, not caring about possible danger or who he ran into; he was always like that whenever one of his Pokémon was seriously injured. It was part of what Dawn liked about him. Now though… he seemed to be about as invested in the world as a lead weight was.

This behavior was just so _not_ Ash that Dawn had no idea how to react. He'd been like this ever since his Pidgeot had attacked him. Well it was Paul's Pidgeot now. That made Dawn scowl, as bad as Ash had been before Paul's scathing speech hadn't helped matters, and then he'd gone and caught the Pidgeot saying he deserved it more than Ash did. After everything Paul had put Infernape through that really burned her up.

Still with Ash's mind out for lunch someone had to take care of these things like Pokémon needing healing and thus the responsibility had fallen on Dawn to get Swellow to the Pokémon Center, and she wasn't going to fail. If it were one of her Pokémon in this situation Ash would do everything in his power to get help and she would do the same here.

She shared a worried look with Pikachu, who could tell that Ash was not himself even more than she could. Seeing that the little mouse was just as, if not _more_ concerned for Ash than she was did little to calm Dawn's nerves. The little guy had hit Ash with several Thunderbolts in an attempt to get his attention and make Ash acknowledge the outside world to no avail.

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief when the bright red roof of the Pokémon Center came into view. She pushed herself that much harder now that the goal was in sight. Her muscles ached from running through the forest and the last stretch of Route 2 but she could rest when Swellow was being looked after.

With one last burst of effort Dawn drug Ash through the automatic doors before they closed and sat him down in a chair before going up to the counter with Swellow's Pokéball. Thankfully Nurse Joy was right there to help.

"Nurse Joy, you've got to help my friend Ash's Swellow!" Dawn said as she handed over the Pokéball as quickly as she could. Nurse Joy didn't say anything as she took the ball and put it into a medical scanner, it was a different story.

"This Swellow is in critical condition! What happened to it?" She asked.

"It was defending its Trainer from a Pidgeot in Viridian Forest. We got it here as fast as we could." Dawn said. Nurse Joy nodded and rushed Swellow to surgery. Dawn tried to get Ash to come to the waiting room but he wouldn't budge so she left him in the lobby and went to the waiting room herself with Prinplup and Pikachu.

They sat there for hours waiting for the surgery to end. Pikachu sat in her lap, much to Piplup's chagrin. Her starter hadn't gotten used to his new body yet and was used to occupying that spot himself. As time went on Pikachu became more and more restless, it only got worse when the surgery light turned off.

_"What if Swellow didn't make it? What if I didn't get it here fast enough, what will I tell Ash?"_ No she couldn't think like that. Especially when Pikachu was already having a conniption in her lap. She had to be strong for his sake.

She began to pet Pikachu's head to calm him down. "Ash and Swellow will be just fine Pikachu, no need to worry." She assured him; it was a blatant lie of course, there was a very big reason to worry.

"That's when I worry the most." Dawn knew that voice and those words. She usually hated that phrase but hearing the familiar reply and friendly voice put her at least somewhat at ease. She turned toward the operating room to find Brock standing down the hall in a slightly bloodstained lab coat.

"Brock!" Dawn said rushing up to her old friend, "I wasn't expecting to see you in the Pokémon Center."

"I could say the same thing about you Dawn. I've been helping out here at the Pewter City Pokémon Center while I study and wait to attend Pokémon Medical School. What are you doing in Kanto, and with Ash no less? I was there when he caught that Swellow I'd recognize it anywhere."

"It's a long story, how's Swellow?"

"Swellow will pull through, but it's going to need some serious recovery time; it won't be battling any time soon. You got it here just in time, if it had been any longer Swellow might not have not have made it."

With the worry for Swellow's well-being gone nothing was holding Dawn together anymore. She just broke and began crying like a little girl, throwing her arms around Brock in a tight hug, not caring what contact with the bloody lab coat would do to her clothes. Brock returned the hug with none of the sexual overtones that it might have had if he were hugging another girl, it was simply a comforting hug between old friends.

"Oh, Brock I was so scared. When Pidgeot attacked and Swellow kept getting up to defend Ash… I ran here as fast as I could. Then there's Ash; that still scares me."

"That's right, where is Ash? His Swellow's in the ICU, I'd think he'd be here waiting for the prognosis but here you are with Pikachu." Brock disengaged from the hug, probably so that they could better hold a conversation.

"He's out in the lobby, I literally had to drag him here. He just stares off into space, not saying anything; it's like he's dead inside."

"That doesn't sound like the Ash I know at all, something really big must have happed in that forest for him to be acting like that."

"As I said, it's a long story." Dawn replied.

"Well my shift here is over, so how about I take you out to dinner and you can tell me all about it." Brock offered

"Dinner?" She asked. Was it really that late? Dawn took a peek out the window and found that the sun had gone down. She hadn't felt hungry before, probably because she was so focused on making Swellow was going to be alright but now that she realized how late it was she was starving. It was to be expected, after all she hadn't eaten since breakfast.

"That sounds good, but what about Ash?"

"If what you're saying about Ash is true then it won't matter if I invite him or not, he'll just sit in the lobby." Brock said.

"I guess I see your point." Dawn said.

"Let me take care of feeding all of your and Ash's Pokémon first though, I bet they're just as hungry as you are." Brock said. Dawn nodded and waited for him to do his work or in this case, his service. Once the Pokémon were taken care of and he'd put his lab coat in his work bag Brock led Dawn out of the Pokémon Center and through the streets of Pewter City to a small diner in a run-down section of town.

Dawn looked incredulously at the building with its peeling and discolored beige paint and a faded wooden sign nailed to the roof that read Sam's Diner in equally old and dilapidated sky blue paint. Actually now that she looked harder this place looked more like an old weathered house than an actual diner. Why would Brock bring her here?

"It's no wonder you don't get any dates," Dawn muttered, "This is your idea of taking a girl to dinner, it's not very romantic. Not that it's supposed to be in this case but still."

"Ouch Dawn, that's cold. I'll have you know you're the first girl I've ever brought here and that's it's my favorite restaurant; I didn't even tell May about this place and she's a sucker for good food. After travelling all over with Ash I can honestly say that Sam's Diner has the best burgers and fries in the world." Brock said looking mock hurt.

"Alright, alright, I believe you. Let's just go eat. I'm so hungry right now I could eat a Horsea." Brock chuckled.

"Well there's no Horsea on the menu but I'm sure you'll find something you like. Don't worry, it's all very good." Dawn nodded and smiled. From a cook as good as Brock that kind of endorsement meant that the food here must be amazing. Of course he'd never take her somewhere with bad food so she wasn't sure why she was worried in the first place.

The two of them walked into the diner, Brock holding the door for Dawn. A bell chimed as the door opened letting whoever was inside know that new customers had arrived. What Dawn saw when she walked in met her expectations of what a small diner would look like, except that it was completely devoid of any patrons. An elderly woman sat behind the counter and the rest of the front room was taken up by a dozen small tables with four chairs at each. All the tables were spaced a comfortable distance apart.

The old woman smiled warmly at Dawn but positively beamed when she saw Brock. "So Brock, did you finally get yourself a date?" She asked, gesturing toward Dawn. Dawn blushed faintly in embarrassment at being called Brock's date. He was nice and all but Dawn doubted she could ever see Brock in a romantic context. Not after seeing how he flirted with girls, and how many girls he flirted with. That would just be plain weird.

"No Clare, this isn't a date. This is Dawn, she's an old friend of mine, she's had a rough day and I thought some of Sam's cooking would do wonders for her. Do you think you can find a table for two?" Brock said smiling back at the old woman.

Dawn had to smile a bit herself. This place was completely empty and yet brock had asked that question as if it were a five star restaurant during the lunch rush. She supposed that was just his usual charm at work. Only this time he wasn't trying to romance anyone so it came off far less creepy than it usually did. It was kind of nice to see this side of Brock.

"I think we can squeeze you two in." Clare said, "Right this way please." She pulled a black leather bound menu from behind the counter and led them to the nearest table. Once they were seated she handed the menu to Dawn.

"Doesn't Brock need one too?" Dawn asked in confusion.

"Bah, he always orders the same thing. A double cheeseburger with everything on it, large fries, and a chocolate Miltank shake so there's no need to take his order. The question young lady, is what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Actually that sounds great. I think I'll have an order of that myself." Dawn said.

"Alright then we can handle that. I'll go tell Sam to start cooking it up for you. It'll be a few minutes." Clare took the menu from Dawn and walked toward the kitchen.

"So Brock, do you come here often, it seems like Clare knows you pretty well." Dawn said.

"Oh I've been coming here since I was a kid. Sam and Clare were friends of my grandparents. I've been coming here a lot more often lately, whenever work at the Pokémon Center runs late." Brock said.

"I'm still not convinced you're not just becoming a Pokémon Doctor so you can spend time around all the Nurse Joys." Dawn teased. Brock smiled at her, taking the teasing for what it was.

"That may have factored in a little bit, I'll admit, but the big reason I want to do this is so I can help Pokémon. You don't need to worry about me Dawn, I still have Croagunk to help keep me on task. As painful as his help in that regard may be." That made her chuckle as she remembered how effective Croagunk's Poison Jab could be at stopping Brock's flirting.

"That's too bad, you might have a chance now. As a friend who's a girl I can say you looked pretty good in that lab coat."

"Thanks Dawn." Brock said with a smile.

"So Brock, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"How come you never flirted with me? I mean, it's not that I ever wanted you to, but you flirted with every pretty girl you saw. Never with me though, what does that say about me? Am I just not pretty enough for you?"

"Dawn, it's not that I don't think you're pretty. It's just that I never flirt with travel companions; that's just a rule I live by. If it makes you feel any better I never hit on Misty or May either. It just would've made things too awkward if I had. If I got rejected I would've had to travel with the girl for an extended period of time. It'd be weird. Plus as time went on I came to see you, and them as little sisters."

"I guess I can live with that." It was then that an elderly man came out from the kitchen with a platter of food. He placed it on the table with a practiced hand. "Here you go kids, have a good meal."

"Thanks Sam, we will." Brock said. Dawn picked up a French fry and bit into it, then she moaned softly in appreciation. She then took a bite of the burger and a sip of her chocolate shake and found them to be equally good.

"You weren't kidding Brock, these really are the best burger and fries I've ever had. The shake is amazing too. Why don't more people know about this place?" She asked.

"It used to be really popular actually but as Pewter City grew and bigger restaurants came in people gradually stopped coming to Sam's; now people just don't want to come to a shabby old diner. Oh, they still have their customers but it's gone down to a trickle of what it used to be. As you saw this entire section of town has been neglected in favor of new construction. The sad truth is Sam and Clare are nearly broke. They spent their life savings to send their grandson to culinary school in Kalos. The region is known for its fine cuisine; they were hoping he could use what he learned there to save the diner."

"But it's not going to work is it?" Dawn asked. Brock shook his head sadly.

"Probably not, the only reason that they can even stay in business now is because their children donate some of the paychecks they get from their various jobs around the city to keep it afloat. My family helps out as much as it can too, we get paid quite a lot by the Pokémon League for running an official Gym but my parents have to take care of nine children, not counting me, so they don't have much to spare. At best this place has a couple years left in it at the current rate."

"_Nine_?" Dawn nearly choked on her food in surprise. "Did you say you have _nine_ siblings?" As an only child that was a bit hard for her to comprehend.

"Yeah, I would've invited you to eat there but I thought it would be a little too chaotic for you. Plus this way I get to help out Sam and Clare a little more."

"Good call." Dawn said.

"Now tell me about what happened with Ash and why you're not in Hoenn earning Contest Ribbons right now." Brock said. Dawn sighed, not looking forward to retelling the events of the day but she knew it had to be done.

"Well this all really started when I went to Johto for the Wallace Cup in Goldenrod City, I won by the way. After the Contest was done I was approached by a red haired Trainer named Silver who seemed to know me as more than a fan. He challenged me to a battle, Piplup vs. his Feraligatr. We were on the ropes when Piplup dropped his everstone and evolved into Prinplup. It looked like things were turning around for us when Silver suddenly surrendered and told me to challenge the Kanto Gyms, specifically the Viridian Gym if I wanted to know any more about him."

"So that's why Piplup evolved, I'd been wondering about that. So anyway, from what I gather you decided to take this Silver up on his challenge to take on the Kanto Gyms?"

"Yeah, I'm still not sure why. I have no idea who he is but I felt like I could trust him and I had to know why. So I came to Kanto and ended up in Pallet Town where I watched Ash compete in the Unova League and I also met the Kanto Champion Blue. Brock started at this.

"You met Blue Oak?"

"Yeah it turns out that he's actually Ash's uncle. Mrs. Ketchum is his older sister and Professor Oak's daughter. Anyway when Ash called home after the Unova League I asked if he'd be willing to travel with me through Kanto as he knew the region much better than I did. He agreed and hopped on the first plane home. He had a battle with Blue using his Unova Pokémon and got absolutely destroyed. Blue told him to figure out what his six best Pokémon were and to come try again when he was ready."

"I doubt that's what put Ash in this catatonic state. He be saddened by the loss for a bit sure but he'd just see it as another challenge to overcome."

"No that wasn't what did it. The thing that caused Ash to be like this happened in Viridian Forest. Ash was battling this guy named Samurai, apparently they knew each other from way back when. Samurai sent out his Pinsir and used this thing called Mega Evolution to make it stronger, I need to ask Professor Rowan about that at some point. Anyway Ash was going to battle it with Swellow when his Pidgeot showed up." Dawn said.

"It beat the Mega Pinsir but then it tried to attack Ash. Swellow defended him, but you saw what happened. Then Paul showed up with Electivire and caught Pidgeot calling Ash a hypocrite for abandoning his Pidgeot and Ash has been like that ever since. It really scares me Brock, he won't even talk to be. I just don't know what to do."

"Thank you for telling me all of this Dawn; I know it's hard for you to see Ash like this; it's hard for me too, in all my time travelling with him I've never seen him this down before. By the way the Pokémon Center got a Pokéball that we were supposed to give to Ash. Do you happen to know what Pokémon is inside it?"

"Ash said something to Professor Oak about sending for Charizard." Dawn said.

"Charizard huh? Well if Ash it trying to put together the best possible team out of the Pokémon he has then that makes sense. Charizard is right up there with Pikachu on the list of Ash's strongest Pokémon, and it gives me an idea about how to snap Ash out of this funk he's in."

"Really, what are you going to do?" Dawn asked.

"You just leave that to me; I'll talk to Ash first thing in the morning. You get some rest, after all you're going to be challenging my little brother at the Gym tomorrow right? I mean that's why you're here. You need the other seven Badges to challenge the Viridian Gym."

"Yeah, that's why we came here, although Ash and I have both decided to do the Kanto Contests as well, so we're going to be very busy, or at least I will be. I'm not sure about Ash at this point."

"Don't worry about Ash too much; he'll get better. Right now you're going to need to focus on getting ready for your Gym battle."

"Any advice on how to beat your brother Brock?" She asked.

Sorry Dawn, but I can't help you. That would be a conflict of interest, but I will be rooting for you all the way."

"I understand, thanks for dinner, I really needed that."

"No problem at all." Brock waved for the check and Sam came out of the kitchen.

"I hope everything was satisfactory." Sam said putting the bill on the table.

"It was wonderful as always Sam." Brock said as he pulled out the money to pay the bill and give a rather generous tip. "Tell Clare I said goodbye."

"I will do that. As always thank you for your business." Dawn pulled out a number of bills herself, she didn't have as much money as Brock by any stretch but she had more than enough to pay for what she wanted and give a generous tip of her own.

"Can I get another order to go?" Sam smiled at her.

"Of course young lady, thank you."

* * *

><p>Ash just sat in his chair in the Pokémon Center, not moving or speaking to anyone. The only times he got up were when he had to go to the bathroom. The events of the last day kept replaying in his head, specifically his run in with Paul and the things that had led up to it.<p>

Pidgeot had tried to attack him. He still couldn't believe it. His brain knew it was true, it was his heart that was the problem. Pidgeot had been one of his oldest and dearest Pokémon friends. The second Pokémon he'd ever caught. It had broken Ash's heart to release it.

What was he supposed to do, leave those Pidgey and Pidgeotto to be harassed by Fearow and his flock of Spearow? Paul probably would've done just that but Ash was a better person than Paul, or so he liked to tell himself. All of that had been called into question now.

Ash felt Pikachu hop on to his shoulder. The electric mouse had been absent for some time along with his other Pokémon, he wasn't sure where they'd gone. He probably should've paid more attention to them. Of course he should've paid more attention to Pidgeot too. These Pokémon weren't trying to kill him at least. If kept this up it was only a matter of time. After what he'd done he kind of felt like he deserved that fate.

"Pikapi, Pi Pikachu?" Ash had been around his partner long enough to know that Pikachu was asking if he was okay. He didn't answer even though he had an answer to give. He didn't want to know what Pikachu would do if he actually said he wasn't okay. Probably shock him again, and Ash didn't feel like being hit with another Thunderbolt.

Pikachu let out a mournful squeak and hopped back on to the floor looking defeated. Ash could feel other Trainers looking at him now. Before this they had just ignored him and went about their own business leaving Ash to his own thoughts. Truth be told he was perfectly fine with that; he wanted to be left alone right now.

Now that he had blatantly ignored his Pokémon though people were beginning to look in his direction. Pokémon Trainers, well most of them, had only the best of intentions and hated to see a Pokémon in any sort of pain. Ash himself included, that's why what happened with Pidgeot stung so much. He'd _caused_ that pain and he felt like the most despicable person in the world, and now there was nothing he could do to fix it.

Ash had no idea how long he sat there. Time really had no meaning to someone who was drowning in their own thoughts. Eventually the eyes of the other Trainers stopped staring at him, not that he cared much either way. He wanted to be alone right now. Unfortunately that didn't seem like it was going to happen as Dawn had just appeared.

"So you'll never guess who I ran into the waiting room. Brock was here doing some work while he waits to go to Pokémon Medical School. He was helping Nurse Joy treat Swellow. He says Swellow will be alright but that it won't be battling any time soon."

Ash grunted an acknowledgement, at least Swellow would recover. Even in the state he was in Ash was very happy to hear this. Of course Brock had helped treat Swellow so it was no surprise to Ash that his Pokémon would fully recover, even if it was benched for the foreseeable future. With that news delivered maybe Dawn would leave him alone with his thoughts, but no such luck was to be had, she just kept talking.

"He fed all of our Pokémon too. Then he took me out to dinner; he would've invited you but he figured you'd want to be alone."

_"Brock can get the hint without even _seeing_ me. Why can't you Dawn?" _Ash thought with a level of bitterness that surprised him. Dawn wasn't trying to do any harm. Yet at the same time he just found her so annoying right now.

"I brought you some food back from the diner we ate at. It's really good I hope you don't mind me ordering for you. I made sure to get back here while the hot stuff was still hot and the cold stuff was still cold."

Dawn put a brown paper bag on the floor and Ash peeked inside. It held a still wrapped double cheeseburger and a rather large serving of French fries. It looked amazing, especially since he hadn't eaten in hours.

"I'm not hungry." Ash said. It was a lie and he could see that Dawn knew it. That was just great, he wasn't going to get to be alone was he? Normally he'd be grateful to have such a good friend but right now he really didn't want the attention.

"You could at least drink the chocolate shake I got you." Dawn said trying to hand him the drink. Oh man that sounded good right now… No! If he gave in to her now she'd never leave him alone. So he would have to forego the milkshake, no matter how much he wanted to take it and gulp it down.

"Like I said I'm not hungry." The girl in front of him did _not_ look pleased with his response. Ash wasn't sure what to do now. Dawn wasn't really the kind of person who lost their temper; he had no idea what she would do if she snapped. Still he was Ash Ketchum and Ash Ketchum stuck to his guns.

"Ash you have to eat something, you haven't had anything since breakfast." Dawn pleaded.

"If I wanted to eat I could get my own food Dawn; as it is I'm fine." Now she was starting to redden in the face a bit, just what had he wrought? Some primal part of Ash was telling him to give in and backpedal as fast as he could. Right now. However the Pokémon Trainer part of him, the part that had won many tough battles through sheer determination ignored those saner and more self-preserving instincts.

Ash did not take the food and as a result Dawn Berlitz finally blew her top. "Ash Ketchum I paid for this food with my own money, just so you could have a good dinner and you're going to eat it. Do you understand me?" People turned toward the arguing pair as Dawn started to yell. "If you don't start eating this food I will force-feed it to you Ash!" That brought a ghost of a smile to his lips. She was bluffing; she had to be bluffing. There was no way Dawn would actually force-feed him. Ash narrowed his eyes and spoke with a low, cool voice that was a stark contrast to the brief screaming match they'd just been in.

"You wouldn't d-mmpf!" Ash found his words cut off by a handful of still warm French fries being shoved into his mouth.

"You were saying?" Dawn's tone was exasperated but there was a smirk on her lips. Ash's hunger beat out his indignation at being treated like a child so he chewed and swallowed the fries. This food was really good, just where had Brock taken her for dinner? Still he wasn't going to be pushed around like this.

"Are you crazy? I could have choked to death! You don't just go sticking food into people's mouths Dawn!" He fumed.

"But you didn't choke to death did you? You ate the food and now you know I'm not bluffing when I say I'll force-feed you. So are you going to eat like a normal person or do I have to feed you like an infant?" She asked.

Ash paled. Just when did Dawn get so scary? Now his sense of self-preservation overrode his stubbornness. He'd lost this one and he knew it. He'd known earlier if he cared to admit it to himself, but it was in his nature to fight to the last second, of course there was one more thing he could try. "Alright, I'll eat the food." He muttered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Dawn's light blue eyes were stern and unyielding, like his mother's when she scolded him back when he'd actually lived at home. Just what had come over his usually cheerful friend?

"I said I'll eat the food." He made sure his voice was clear this time. Maybe now Dawn would leave him alone. He had no intention of actually eating the food once she left. This was just one last ditch attempt to win while making it look like he had accepted her ultimatum. She didn't move though.

"I know the second I leave, you'll just get rid of the food without actually eating it so I'm going to stay here and make sure you eat every bite." She said answering the unspoken question in Ash's eyes.

"Alright, you win; I'll eat it all." He really meant it this time. He unwrapped the cheeseburger with a sigh. Dawn's expression finally softened.

"Just make it quick okay, I have a Gym Battle tomorrow and I'd like to get some sleep before I have to think on my feet." That's right Dawn was going to challenge the Pewter Gym. He'd been so wrapped up in his own problems that he'd completely forgotten. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go or not. He wasn't even sure he wanted to be around Pokémon right now.

So instead he just nodded ate his food. When he was done he threw the garbage away and walked back over to Dawn.

"Thank you Ash, now I'm going to get some sleep now. Good night."

"Good night Dawn." Ash said with a nod.

* * *

><p>When Brock walked into the Pokémon Center in the morning he found Ash quietly munching on a glazed doughnut. He didn't look very good, in fact he looked like utter crap, like he hadn't slept at all. Given what at happened it wouldn't have surprised Brock at all if that were the truth. A lot of Trainers came through a Pokémon Center every day so they tended to keep stalked up on food so that Trainers could make a one stop pit stop if they just needed a rest. Granted the food usually wasn't the healthiest or best tasting around but when you had so much foot traffic and were providing free medical care for Pokémon keeping the food you provided cheap was a top priority, unfortunately the unhealthy breakfast wouldn't do much good for Ash's condition.<p>

After checking up on Swellow's condition with Nurse Joy he walked over to Ash slowly, unsure of how to broach what Dawn had told him last night about what had happened to Ash in Viridian Forest. Still it was clear that his old friend needed a pep talk and he was the most qualified to give it so he had to try. Ash didn't acknowledge him as he walked up, taking another bite of his doughnut. Well, now this was worse than he thought.

"Hey Ash. It's good to see you again." Brock greeted. Ash looked up from his meager breakfast and nodded to Brock.

"Hi, Brock." He muttered.

"I thought you might like to know that we've moved Swellow out of the ICU. It's actually in good enough condition that we transported it to Professor Oak's lab for its physical therapy, but it will still be a long time before it's in any condition to do any battling."

"Thanks for the update Brock, but we both know that's not why you're really here. So did Dawn send you to talk to me?" He asked. Brock shook his head.

"No, she told me what happened but I chose to come talk to you on my own." The soon to be Pokémon Doctor in training paused. There was something off about Ash that didn't have to do with his sour mood. Something was missing and it took Brock a second to realize what it was. "Where's Pikachu?"

"I sent him out back with Dawn, she's getting some last minute training for her Gym battle later." Ash explained.

"So will you be watching the Gym battle, I'm sure Dawn would love your support. I know it's always helped you to have friends in your corner for your Gym battles."

"I know, but right now I'm not even sure I want to be around Pokémon. I just don't feel like I deserve to have them after what happened with Paul and Pidgeot." Ash said. Brock scowled, not at all pleased at what his old friend was saying.

"You made a mistake Ash, everybody does. Yes, not going back for Pidgeot was bad, but when you left it you were just starting out on your journey. I know you always intended to go back for it, but you were, and are still young. You were always rushing off to the next adventure and that's completely understandable. What you did, you did without any malicious intent. When it comes to Pokémon you've done much more good than harm."

"I'm not so sure, I mean I left all those Pokémon I caught back at Professor Oak's ranch only and barely use any of them after I leave their home regions." Brock sighed in frustration. He really liked Ash, in fact he considered the younger boy to be his best friend in the world, but he could be really thickheaded at times. Well if Ash wanted proof that he wasn't a bad person he could provide it. He made a mental note to thank Dawn for the tip that made his next move possible.

"If you want proof that you're not as bad as you seem to think you are then come outside with me Ash and I'll give it to you." Brock walked over to the counter and spoke to Nurse Joy who gave him Charizard's Pokéball. Then he began to make his way outside with Ash following close behind giving him a questioning glance. Brock said nothing until they were out back. It appeared that Dawn had already finished her training and was on her way to the Pewter Gym so he'd have to make this quick.

"Inside this Pokéball is an old friend of yours that should make a pretty convincing case that you aren't a horrible person Ash." Brock tossed the Pokéball into the air and with signature pop and white light Charizard appeared, letting out his cry and stretching his wings. Brock then tossed the empty Pokéball to Ash.

"Charizard." Ash whispered, though in the quiet area behind the Pokémon Center it carried to Brock's ears easily.

"That's right, Charizard. You remember how we met him don't you?"

"Of course I do Brock, were on our way to Vermilion City with Misty, back when we were first travelling through Kanto. We came across it sitting on a rock waiting for his Trainer, Damian. That was back when it was just a Charmander. Do you really think I could forget something like that? I remember it like it was yesterday!" Ash seemed genuinely insulted that he'd implied that he might have forgotten how he'd met one of his first Pokémon.

Of course Brock knew that Ash hadn't forgotten. This was all just a way to remind him of what kind of person he was. "And when that storm came and Charizard nearly died who made sure the flame on its tail stayed lit so we could get it to the Pokémon Center even though it wasn't his Pokémon? That was you Ash, you saved Charizard's life, and from what Misty and Tracey told me you did it again in the Orange Islands. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care about their Pokémon to me."

"When it came to Pidgeot, I was no better than Damian. I promised Pidgeot that I'd come back for it and never did, yeah I saved Charizard but that one act doesn't make me any better of a person." Brock barely resisted the urge to face palm. Ash was just being so stupid right now.

"You _are_ better than Damian Ash, unlike him once you realized what you'd done you felt remorse for it and it's that guilt that's making you like this. I completely understand why you feel so bad about this but you can't let it eat away at you like you have been. The Ash Ketchum I know would do anything to help a Pokémon in need. That's the real Ash Ketchum."

"Even if you are right and I'm better than Damian, and I'm not convinced that I am that still doesn't make what Paul said wrong. I abandoned Pidgeot and never came back for it even though I promised I would. I didn't deserve to have Pidgeot and if I don't deserve to have Pidgeot then do I deserve to have the rest of my Pokémon?"

"What reason do you have to listen to Paul of all people on how to treat your Pokémon Ash? After how he treated Infernape back when it was his Chimchar he has no place lecturing you. "

"I listened because he has a point Brock. I did a horrible thing, so I had no right preaching to him about how to treat Chimchar."

"Don't you see Ash, Chimchar is a great example of what I've been talking about as well. Paul broke Chimchar down physically and mentally in an effort to make it stronger. Then he cast it aside when his harsh methods failed to get Chimchar to unlock Blaze. You took Chimchar in and helped it rebuild its self-confidence. You were the one who evolved it into a powerful Infernape. An Infernape who was instrumental in your defeat of Paul in the Sinnoh League."

"Look Brock, I'm just very confused right now. I don't know what to think or do. This whole thing really has got me questioning my right to call myself a Pokémon Trainer." Ash let out a tired sigh and recalled Charizard and hooked the pseudo-dragon's Pokéball to his belt.

"You do what you have to Ash, but I have to go. _Someone _should be there to support Dawn during her Gym battle and I for one am not going to miss it. What about you?"

"No, I'm sorry, I can't. I need to be alone right now." Ash said.

"Alright Ash, like I said, you do what you have to do. Dawn and I will come check up on you after her battle with Forrest. Just know that I think you're making a huge mistake by not going and supporting your friend. With that said Brock turned away from Ash and started making his way toward the Pewter Gym. He didn't dare turn back, he didn't want his old friend to see the look of disgust and disdain on his face.

* * *

><p>Dawn swallowed hard trying to keep his mouth moist and her nervousness down. The Pewter City Gym was far from an imposing building but still she was intimidated nonetheless. That was understandable she knew, this was her first Gym Battle after all. True it wasn't the first time she'd battled a Gym Leader, she had battled Maylene back in Veilstone City. That hadn't been an official Gym Battle though, just something to help Maylene get her confidence back.<p>

This was a whole different ballgame when compared to anything she'd done before. She couldn't be overly flashy like she was in Contest battles. As much as Dawn loved her Contests after watching Ash in his Gym battles and the Pokémon League she had to grudgingly admit that they put a lot of emphasis on style over substance.

Gym battles, and by extension, League battles weren't about looking pretty and graceful. They were about getting the job done no matter how ugly it looked. Power and speed were the name of the game here. It wasn't that her Contest skills would be completely useless, far from it, Ash had proven that when he'd adapted many of her Contest moves for use in his Gym battles back in Sinnoh.

No the problem was with Dawn herself, or rather her mindset. She was a Coordinator and had always been a Coordinator as long as she'd had a Pokémon. With that came certain ways of thinking that would be a liability in a Gym battle. Dawn just hoped she could put her ingrained habits aside for this battle.

Really though, how tough could a Gym battle be compared to a Contest battle, she'd seen Ash during his Gym battles. It's not like she didn't know what to expect. Still seeing how something is done by watching someone else and actually putting it into practice yourself were two entirely different things.

"Nervous Dawn?" She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find that it was brock and hastily put a hand to her chest as she breathed in and out to steady herself.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! Anyway yeah, I think there's a pretty big reason to worry. I never realized how deficient my team was at fighting Rock types until now. Only Prinplup has any type advantage."

"Don't worry about that. Type advantages aren't everything, travelling with Ash should have taught you that."

"I know but I bet they help." She said.

"Yeah they do help." Brock said with a chuckle. "So have you decided what three Pokémon you're going to use?"

"Well I'm going to use Prinplup obviously, as for the other two I was thinking I'd use Quilava and Togekiss. As I said I don't have a lot of options really."

"Just do your best, no one will be able to fault you for that and if you don't win this time I'll help you train to get ready for your next challenge."

"I thought that was a conflict of interest Brock?" Dawn asked.

"Well it is, but with Ash acting the way he is I figure you need someone in your corner. While the Pewter Gym does belong to my family I'm not officially affiliated with it anymore so I think I can get away with it without running into any real problems."

"Thanks, I just wish Ash was here right now."

"So do I Dawn, he'll come around eventually; he's just got a lot of soul searching to do. At least I hope he'll come around. I'd hate to see Ash give up on his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master over this. Right now though you need to focus on your Gym Battle. I won't be able to cheer for you on this one, Forrest asked me to referee your match but I'll be rooting for you even if I can't say it. Just stay focused and you'll do fine."

"You're right, let's go inside." Dawn said with a nod. She and Brock stepped inside the Pewter Gym and the lights in the ceiling snapped on to reveal the battlefield. Dawn didn't know whether or not to be encouraged by the fact that it was exactly what she expected. A big dirt field with small boulders scattered around.

On the other side of the Gym approaching the pair was what appeared to be a miniature version of Brock. She assumed that must be Forrest. She looked up at the balcony where the spectators would be and found eight children each with the same eyes as Brock and Forrest standing there along with what could only be their parents. It looked like the Gym Leader was going to have a sizable cheering section. Dawn scanned the balcony again just to make sure and sighed as she confirmed that Ash was nowhere to be seen. It looked like she wasn't going to have a cheering section for this one since Brock had a job to do. She just hoped his silent moral support would be enough.

Forest finally reached them and extended a hand to Dawn which she took. He smiled in a disarming sort of way, at least he was friendly. Of course she'd never really met a Gym Leader who was unfriendly, and besides that this was Brock's little brother. She was half afraid she was going to get flirted with at any moment. Thankfully Forrest did nothing of the sort. Either he lacked Brock's amorousness or he was just very professional. Of course there was a third option: he just didn't find her pretty, but as a girl she didn't like to think about that option.

"Hi so you must be Dawn, my challenger. Brock's told the family lots about you. Stories from when you travelled together in the Sinnoh region. It's so awesome to me meet you. I'm really looking forward to our battle. I've never faced a Pokémon Coordinator before." Forrest said.

"Thanks Forrest I'm looking forward to our battle too. Brock speaks very highly of your skill as a Gym Leader. Truth be told I'm a bit nervous. I've faced a Gym Leader before but not in an official Gym Battle."

"Don't worry about that, just do your best and have fun. If you lose I'll be here waiting to accept your challenge when you're ready to try again. So what do you say we get started Dawn?" Dawn nodded and Forrest and Brock departed to their prober positions on the battlefield.

"This will be a three on three Pokémon battle between the Challenger Dawn from Twinleaf Town and Forrest the Pewter City Gym Leader," Brock said as he began to explain the rules, "Only the challenger may make substitutions. The battle is over when all three Pokémon on either side is unable to continue. Dawn has the first move."

Dawn paused for a moment thinking about what Pokémon she wanted to send in. Prinplup was the obvious choice but she hesitated because it was well, obvious. Forest could see Prinplup already since he was outside his Pokéball. She decided she'd rather keep Prinplup as an ace in the hole in case things really went south.

That still left the question of who to send out between Quilava and Togekiss though. Neither Pokémon had type advantage against Rock type Pokémon, in fact both were weak to Rock type attacks, so sending them out might throw Forrest off of his game and lure him into a false sense of security. Still she liked to have a surprise up her sleeve and Togekiss knew Aura Sphere…

Dawn pulled out Togekiss' Pokéball and enlarged it. "Togekiss, spotlight!" She called as the ball popped open and revealed the white Fairy/Flying type.

"A Togekiss an odd choice to battle with in a Rock type Gym, still I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from one of Brock's friends. So I guess I'll make an odd choice of my own. Crobat, I choose you!"

Dawn frowned in confusion. A Crobat? Poison was strong against Fairy so Togekiss was at a disadvantage against Crobat but then she'd expected to be at a disadvantage. She just hadn't expected it to be like this. The Pewter Gym was a Rock type Gym after all, she'd expected Togekiss' Flying type to be the problem, not her Fairy typing. Oh well it wasn't like this was a horrible situation she could just switch out Togekiss for Quilava. Honestly Dawn could see the appeal of starting with Crobat, it was likely meant to throw her of her game plan much like her own choice. Well she wasn't about to let this get to her.

"Begin the match!" Brock called. Dawn immediately reached for Togekiss' Pokéball to call her back but was stopped short when Forrest called out an attack.

"Use Mean Look Crobat!" He said. With that command Crobat's eyes glowed purple for a brief moment and Dawn cursed her rotten luck. She knew what Mean Look did and it was not good in this situation. Mean Look was a move that prevented the target from switching out. That was its entire purpose. That meant that if she wanted to switch Togekiss out she'd have to defeat Crobat first and Togekiss didn't have any moves that would be super-effective against a Poison/Flying type. So far her first official Gym battle wasn't going anything like she'd hoped.

"Now Cross Poison!" Forrest commanded. Crobat crossed its wings and they started to glow purple. It flew toward Togekiss in attempted to slash it with its wings.

Now Togekiss, use Safeguard!" Dawn called. Togekiss crossed its wings and its body started to glow green. Then, it opened up its wings and a large green barrier came out of its body, repelling Crobat and its Cross Poison.

"Now use Air Slash!" She said. Togekiss spun its body in place, and its body began to glow light blue. Then, light blue energy appears around Togekiss and spirals around it, slashing Crobat. Forrest grunted in frustration.

"Use Hypnosis!" He ordered. Crobat's eyes glowed red and red rings flew from them toward Togekiss.

"Use Safeguard again!" Dawn commanded. Once again the green barrier sprang up around Togekiss, stopping the attack cold. "Now use Sky Attack!" Togekiss began to glow white. Forrest smirked.

"Sky Attack takes time to charge Dawn, you've left yourself wide open for an attack. Use Cross Poison Crobat. Once again Crobat crossed its wings and they glowed purple. Crobat flew right at Togekiss and since she was charging Sky Attack Togekiss couldn't dodge and had to take the super-effective attack.

"Togekiss!" Dawn cried out in alarm as her Pokémon went flying backward. On the bright side it seemed that she was done charging Sky Attack. Togekiss flew forward with a white streak behind her, faster than Crobat could react. The bat Pokémon went flying backward and like Togekiss looked a little worse for the wear. Both Pokémon still seemed eager to battle though.

"Air Slash one more Time Togekiss!" This time Togekiss formed Air Slash into a light blue energy ball in front of its body and it fires it at the opponent. As the ball flew at Crobat, it turns into a beam.

"Dodge it Crobat! Then use Cross Poison." Forrest commanded. The purple Pokémon was easily able to fly around the beam and avoid being hit. It then flew toward Togekiss once more.

"Dodge it Togekiss!" Togekiss being the graceful Pokémon that she was made a show of dodging Crobat's attack at the two Pokémon began chasing each other around the Gym. Though as Time went on it was clear that Crobat was gaining on Togekiss.

"Cross Poison!"

"Safeguard!" This time though Crobat was just a bit too fast and managed to hit Togekiss before Safeguard could be used. The Fairy Pokémon was still ready to fight, if only barely. Then Dawn's heart sank as her Pokémon glowed a sickly purple. Togekiss was poisoned.

"Use Aura Sphere!" Dawn commanded. Togekiss put her wings together and created a light blue ball of energy. Togekiss then fires it at Crobat. Dawn smirked, Aura Sphere was an attack that never missed. Crobat wouldn't be dodging this one. As expected the attack found its mark and exploded. Crobat went down. As it did so however Togekiss' body flashed purple and also fell to the ground.

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle!" Brock declared. Both Trainers recalled their Pokémon and thanked them for their hard work.

"I'm impressed with your skill Dawn, not that I expected any less from one of Brock's friends but don't think that you're out of the woods just yet. Steelix, I choose you!" With the telltale pop of a Pokéball the giant steel snake Pokémon appeared and let out an intimidating roar.

"Quilava Spotlight!" Dawn tossed her Pokéball into the air and her Fire type appeared on the battlefield ready and raring to go, flames spewing from its back.

"A Quilava, interesting, you managed to take the advantage this time. We'll see it help. Use Dragon Breath!" Steelix fired a blue beam from its mouth right at Quilava.

"Power through with Flame Wheel!" Dawn commanded. Quilava rolled at Steelix its body becoming completely engulfed in flames. The flames acted as a shield as it powered through the Dragon Breath at hit Steelix.

"Use Bind Steelix!" Forrest said. Quilava being so close to Steelix after its Flame Wheel was unable to react as Steelix wrapped around it and began to squeeze.

"Use Flamethrower Quilava!" The flame on the Fire Pokémon's back sprang back to life as it unleashed its attack right in Steelix's face. The Steel type Pokémon recoiled in obvious pain.

"Drop it Steelix!" Forrest called. The snake-like Pokémon uncoiled and flung it away. The Fire Pokémon crashed to the ground but was able to quickly get back on its feet.

"Now Steelix Rock Slide!" Steelix yelled and rocks fell toward Quilava.

"Dodge it!" Quilava tried desperately to dodge between the rocks and even managed to avoid the first couple but was ultimately hit. "Quilava!" Dawn cried out. Steelix loomed over the smaller Pokémon, it almost looked like it was smirking.

"Rock slide one more time." Forrest commanded.

"Counter it with Swift!" Dawn called. The Fire Pokémon unleashed yellow stars from its mouth that met the oncoming rocks and canceled them out in a large explosion. "Now Flamethrower!" The jet of flame rushed through the debris caused by the collision of the last two attacks and hit it's mark. Steelix fell to the ground with a crash.

"Steelix is unable to battle." Brock declared.

"Ok, Steelix return," Forrest said calling it back into its Pokéball, "You did a great job. Now it's time to get serious Rhyperior, I choose you!" The large greyish-brown Pokémon appeared and was obviously ready for a fight.

"Use Dig Rhyperior!" Forrest called. Rhyperior dug underground leaving Quilava wondering what to do as it waited for its opponent to pop up. It didn't have to wait long as Rhyperior came up right under Quilava, sending the Fire type Pokémon flying. Having already been damaged in the battle with Steelix Dawn's Pokémon was unable to take this hit.

"Quilava is unable to battle!" Brock said.

"Quilava return," Dawn said calling her Pokémon back to its Pokéball, "You did great and we'll be sure to win this one for you. Prinplup spotlight!" The penguin Pokémon stepped forward ready to fight in the final stage of this Gym battle. Win or loss, it all came down to this.

"Rhyperior use Megahorn!" Rhyperior's horn extended and glowed white as it charged forward toward Prinplup.

"Counter it with Hydro Pump Prinplup!" The Water type Pokémon fired a highly pressurized stream of water from its mouth which hit its target but Rhyperior plowed right on through on its way to hit Prinplup. Prinplup went skidding backwards but still looked ready to fight.

"Horn Drill Rhyperior!" Forrest commanded. Rhyperior's horn began to spin like a drill as it charged at Prinplup. Dawn knew if that attack hit it would be over. Horn Drill was an instant K.O. move. So she had to stop Rhyperior somehow.

"Prinplup use Whirlpool!" Prinplup's body glowed a bluish-white color and it raised its arms and beak to the air. It then opened its beak and a huge whirlpool came out of it and formed above Prinplup. Prinplup then threw the Rhyperior. Rhyperior was caught in the vortex, its forward momentum halted and constantly taking super-effective damage.

"Now use Ice Beam!" Prinplup opened its beak and formed a light blue ball inside it. It then fired multiple light blue beams from the ball at the whirlpool. The icy beam mixed with the currents of the whirlpool causing Rhyperior to take even more damage. Slowly the whirlpool began to freeze. Rhyperior fainted before the process was complete but it still ended up encased in a block of ice.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle. That means the victory goes to Dawn!" Brock declared.

"I…won?' Dawn said to herself stunned, "I won!" Forrest walked up to her and smiled warmly.

"Congratulations Dawn, you've earned this. The official Pokémon League Forrest handed her the Boulder Badge, which was just a simple grey octagon.

"I got the Boulder Badge!" Dawn said as she did a triumphant poise reminiscent to that of Ash and then put it in her Badge case. On instinct she went for a high five but found no one there to return it. It felt so strange not having Ash here, even after all her time in Hoenn she hadn't gotten used to not having him and Brock around. Now that she was traveling with Ash again his absence was felt all the more keenly.

"Great job Dawn, let's go back to the Pokémon Center and show Ash. Maybe seeing your Badge will cheer him up." Brock said.

"Yeah, maybe." Dawn muttered, sincerely hoping that was the case.

* * *

><p>So here we are at the end of this chapter. The Gym battle was really hard to write and came out a bit lackluster because I was running out of steam. Fun fact my original plan was to actually have Dawn <em>lose<em> the battle to Forrest and have to rematch the Gym. The more I wrote though, the more sense it made for Dawn to win.

I was also going to get Ash back on track in this chapter with a battle against Team Rocket, that took place after Dawn's Gym battle but I cut the scene from the chapter because if I left it in this chapter would've been longer than the previous one which was somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 words according to my word count on Word and that's just ridiculous.

The Team Rocket scene will be at the start of the next chapter. After that our heroes will start heading toward Cerulean City and we all know who lives there. They won't get there until at least the chapter after next but you can all get hyped for the return of Misty, even if this is a Pearlshipping story I'll treat her fairly.

Also of note, Brock while he's not a permanent addition to the group will be staying around for a few chapters. Also since I'm posting this on Thanksgiving, happy Thanksgiving and if you don't celebrate that holiday, have a great day anyway.


End file.
